Types of adoption
Interracial Adoption
Interracial Adoption is also known as transracial or transcultural. This
is when parents who adopt, adopt a child of another race. This is usually
done because, fewer Caucasian children are available. Caucasians, who are
adopted, usually don’t accept singles or applicants older then forty,
so most adopt interracially.
("Introduction to Tran
racial or Tran cultural adoption")
In the survey we conducted, we decided to add a question which asked the
teen’s views on interracial adoption. We wanted to know how they felt
about people adopting their own race. They could only answer a yes or no
to the question. The teen’s ages were from fourteen and eighteen years
of age. In all, there were fifty teenagers surveyed; thirty-two females
and eighteen males.
International Adoption
This is the process of adopting a child outside of the U.S. It is mostly
done through private attorney, or an international adoption agency. Only
88 countries in the world allow international adoption. These countries
include 6 countries in Africa, 20 in Asia, 32 in Europe, and 30 in Latin
America. The age range would be from infants to teens. The approximate cost
averages between $7,000 to $30,000. It depends on the agency country to
decide who can adopt. It may take six months to several years to actually
receive a child depending on the age. ("Adoption
Types")
Stepchild Adoption
The stepchild adoption process is very similar to any other adoption process.
The most common form of adoption, stepchild adoption is the process where
someone “assumes financial and legal responsibility” for the
child of their spouse. The stepparent must file for a petition to claim
the child ("Stepchild
Adoption"). In addition, the stepparent must have documents to
present to a judge that the absent biological parent gives consent to the
stepparent. In certain cases, like the biological parent’s death or
his/her lack of parental rights, consent is not necessary ("Stepchild
Adoption").
Although the process seems practical enough, the stepparent who is adopting
will be well informed. The stepparent should be aware of the specific laws
concerning the adoption process that vary from state to state. Some of these
laws include, but are not limited to, that the stepparent has to be married
to the biological parent of the child for at least one year and the judge
may require a home study on both the stepparent and the biological parent
("Stepparent Adoption").
They should also understand that to complete the process, parental consent
from the absent biological parent is needed. Due to different domestic situations,
including a strain in the relationship between the biological parent and
the absent biological parent, the process can be t ime-consuming, dealing
with the mother and the father of the child. Stepparents should also familiarize
themselves with the regulations regarding visitation rights for the grandparents
of the child. ("Stepchild
Adoption").
Relative Adoption
“Most state laws define "relative" by degree of relatedness.
For example, Arizona adoption law defines a "relative" as "uncle,
aunt, adult sibling, grandparent or great-grandparent of the child of the
whole or half-blood or by marriage or adoption”. ("Adoption
of a Relative")
In many cases relative adoption would be thought of after a family member
has passed away. Instead of putting the family member’s child up for
adoption, the relative would adopt them instead, so they can have legal
rights to the child. ("Adoption
of a Relative") There is another case in which the parent is not
taking responsibility for he/she’s child or no longer can take care
of the child. This would lead to the state coming in to help the child,
for example, Child Services. To prevent this from ending in the child in
a whole new family, the family can come in and adopt the child.
Adopting Adults
Adopting an adult is not the type of adoption that is heard about often.
To consider choosing the adopting adult method, the adoptee has to be at
least the age of 18 and has to accept wanting to be adopted by the person
who is willing to do the adoption. ("Adult
Adoptions") There are several reasons why a person might consent
to adult adoption. One reason that is most common is inheritance. This is
done so that the adoptee can legally get an inheritance from the adopter.
The next reason is because the adoptee has grown very close to his/her step-parent
and wants to make the relationship as real as possible. ("Adopting
an Adult") Another reason is that the adopted adult finds their
biological family. The family can adopt them back into the family just as
long as they are of age.
After an adult is adopted, he/she will receive a new birth certificate that
will have the adoptive parents in place of the adoptee’s birth parents.
Then the adoptee’s last name would be changed to the adoptive parents’,
but this can be optional. The way our government is set up lets states make
separate laws from others, so there are different rules and regulations
on adult adoption in each state. Some laws the rules and regulations may
be similar, but others may be entirely opposite.
("Adopting an Adult")
Homosexual Adoption
For the gay community adoption seems good in one part of the country or
world, but frowned upon in the others. In the United States, it has been
a struggle for separate states to decide whether to allow or deny homosexual
adoption. To this day some states remain neutral on the subject matter because
there are reasons why it would be good and reasons why it should not be
able to happen; it is neither legal nor illegal to do.
States such as California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Washington, New Jersey,
New York, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Oregon, Alaska,
Minnesota, and even the District of Columbia have welcomed the gay community
to the adoption process. There is a catch though; one partner first has
to apply for the legal right to the adoptee. After this process has gone
through the necessary frustrations, the second “parent” can
come in. This parent now has to apply for a second parent adoption which
is where this parent can adopt the child also, but it does not take away
the rights from the other parent. Adding the second parent, allows both
parents to have the same right to the child.
("Are You Thinking
About Gay Adoption")
The states which have not allowed legal gay and lesbian adoption, the adoption
has been done secretly. The gay and lesbian couples have just used one parent
to adopt a child without the other being involved. The only states thus
far that have strictly prohibited gay and lesbian adoption have been Florida
and New Hampshire.
("Working with Gay
and Lesbian Adoptive Parents")
Open Adoption
Adoption has changed over the years of its existence. Currently in the world
of adoption, the family or mother can actually choose the family that they
want to give their child to. There family or mother that is giving their
child up for adoption can also be a part of the child’s life. This
can be very good for the child because the child has so many people in his/her
life leading him/her in the right direction. It is also beneficial for the
birth parents because the reason for giving the child up for adoption may
not be a willing reason and the birth mother can still have access to her
child when she likes.
("Open Adoption: You
Make the Choices")
Going through an open adoption can be very difficult in so many ways because
the adoptive parents may get upset about the birth parents interesting with
how they want to raise the child. It also can cause arguments between the
birth parents and adoptive parents because the birth parents may feel they
have all rights to the child’s life. Legally, they only partial rights,
and the adoptive parents have partial rights. It can also be a sad case
for the child to because he/she may become confused. They can become confused
from the parents bumping heads and ideas, the child may not know which parent
to listen to. The child may also become confused because the child has too
many elders in there life telling them what to do. The child does not want
to upset either parents, but they may feel a lot of pressure with that many
voices in their life.
("Introduction to Open
Adoption")