Adoptive Parents
Process
Home Study
Type of Adoption
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Domestic Adoption
A domestic adoption means that both the adoptive parents and birth parents live in BC. Birth parents go through family profiles to select the family they feel will be the best match with the way they would like the child to be raised.
Profile Package
After your home study is complete, you make a profile package that includes:
- your home study
- a letter to birth parents
- pictures of you
- identifying information such as addresses and surnames are NOT included.
Your profile will be shown to all birth parents who have selected characteristics that match your description. Some categories are:
- religion
- location within BC
- level of openness desired
- number of children, if any
- age
- marital status
- interests and hobbies
Matching
Birth parents choose families from the profiles. If you are selected by a birth parent you will:
- Receive her (or their) detailed medical and social history report (s)
- If you choose to proceed, issues of placement plans, openness agreements, etc, are dealt with through a mediation process.
Placement and Adoption
- In many cases (but not all!) the birth parent will place her child in your care in the few days following birth.
- You can expect a visit from your social worker shortly after placement to see how you are adjusting to parenthood.
- After the child has been in your home for 6 months a formal Post Placement Report can be done. Your social worker will arrange to see you in your home and then the report can be used as an official document to file for adoption.
- The process of filing for adoption involves both The Adoption Centre and your lawyer.
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Revocation
There are many birth parents who begin the process of adoption planning but choose to parent. Being matched with a birth parent does not guarantee placement. Birth mothers have thirty days after the child’s birth to revoke their consent, even if the child has been placed.
This aspect of domestic adoption is covered thoroughly during your home study as it can evoke high anxiety in adoptive parents. We believe that the more prepared you are for such a possibility, the better you can expect to cope with such an event.
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