Define Adoption

noun | US /əˈdɑːp.ʃən/ | UK /əˈdɒp.ʃən/

1. The action or fact of choosing to take up, follow, or use something.

2. The act or process of legally bringing another's child into one's home, with the intent to raise as one's own child.

3. Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. There are many types of adoption. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.

Types of Adoption

*This list and descriptions are not exhaustive or all-inclusive.

  • Adult adoption is between two or more adults in order to transfer inheritance rights and/or filiation. Adult adoption laws may vary by state.

  • An agency adoption involves a licensed agency that may provide more training and counseling to both prospective parents and expectant parents considering adoption.

  • The process by which the adopting family has little to no contact with the biological parents. The record of the biological parent is kept sealed. Often, the biological father is not recorded—even on the original birth certificate.

  • When the adoptive parents, birth parents, and the child live within the United States. The entire adoption process, including initial placement, background checks, consent, and finalization, is regulated by State laws and policies.

  • Adoption Facilitators, sometimes called “adoption consultants,” are unlicensed and unregulated companies who match hopeful adoptive families with prospective birth parents considering adoption. Once they make a match, they are no longer involved. They do not provide counseling or legal advice.

  • Foster care adoption is the adoption of a child in foster care whose biological parents’ rights have been terminated by a court. The child may be adopted by either his or her foster parents or another adoptive family.

  • Grandparent adoption is another common kind of family member adoption. It is important to distinguish grandparent adoption from the more common scenario of grandparent guardianship or custody. In those scenarios, the grandparents have some rights, but the biological parents retain parental rights. Grandparent adoptions can be closed adoptions if it is unsafe for the child to maintain a relationship with the parent(s).

  • Independent adoptions are also called private adoptions, where the birth parent(s) giving custody of the child and parental rights directly to the adoptive parent(s) without the involvement of public or private agencies.

  • Infant adoption is the voluntary and permanent placement of a baby for adoption by his or her birth mother, who selects the adoptive family with whom the child will be placed. There are two primary ways to adopt an infant in the United States: through an agency or independently.

  • International adoption, or intercountry adoption, is the legal and permanent adoption of a child from another country.

  • Interstate adoptions can involve any manner of adoption, with the main difference being that the birth parents and adoptive parents live in different states.

  • An Intrastate adoption takes place when the birth mother and baby reside in the same state as the adopting family.

  • Kinship adoption refers to the formal legal adoption process of a child by their grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, older siblings, extended family members, or others to whom children and parents ascribe a family relationship.

  • Open adoption is when the biological and adoptive families communicate to varying degrees of each other's personal information and have an option of contact.

  • Independent adoptions are also called private adoptions. The birth parent(s) giving custody of the child and parental rights directly to the adoptive parent(s) without the involvement of public or private agencies

  • Also known as kinship adoption, involves the adoption of a child by a spouse of a parent or another relative, being a grandparent, brother, sister, aunt or uncle (whether of the whole blood or half blood or by marriage).

  • The second-parent adoption or co-parent adoption is a process by which a partner, who is not biologically related to the child, can adopt their partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first legal parent's rights.

  • One of the most common kinds of adoptions, also known as second parent adoption. The main hurdle can be biological parent consent followed by a few screen procedures depending on state.

State by State Adoption Links

Adoption Laws Timeline by Jade Amez™

Adoption Resources + Links

Administration for Children & Families

The Children's Bureau supports programs, research, and monitoring to help eliminate barriers to adoption and find permanent families for children. CB provides funding to states and tribes to help them support families who adopt from foster care. We provide additional funds to states that achieve a high number of adoptions of children from foster care. LEARN MORE

Adoption Assistance Program

Authorized under title IV-E of the Social Security Act, and amendments, the Adoption Assistance Program provides Federal matching funds of 50 to 83 percent, depending on the state's per capita income. Funding is contingent upon an approved State plan to administer or supervise the administration of the program. LEARN MORE

Adopt.org

We dream of a world where every young person has forever connections to help them thrive. We’re on a mission to build permanent families, communities, and connections for youth in foster care. LEARN MORE

Childwelfare.gov

Although adoption is a legal process, it is also a social and emotional process. It can be joyful, but those involved may experience challenges such as loss, grief, and identity issues. Child welfare professionals can help children and families navigate these processes, by providing them adoption resources, including connecting them with supportive services before and after adoption. LEARN MORE

CRC

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States parties. It also monitors implementation of the Optional Protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. LEARN MORE

Department of Homeland Security

When children are adopted from outside the United States, they must go through an immigration process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines the eligibility and suitability of prospective adoptive parents (individuals) looking to adopt and the eligibility of children to immigrate to the United States. LEARN MORE

FindLaw

Knowing the rules for adoption before you enter the adoption process will help ensure that you make the correct decision for everyone involved.  Whether you're adopting a toddler or a teenager from the United States or abroad, FindLaw's Adoption section can provide legal information and resources for prospective adoptive parents, birth mothers, and adoptees. LEARN MORE

MN BIPOC Kidlit Creators

MN BIPOC Kidlit Creators fills a gap in the children’s literature community in Minnesota by connecting writers and illustrators of color with one another and with readers and educators across the state. LEARN MORE

National Council for Adoption

The National Council For Adoption is the leading expert on adoption issues, providing resources and education for all people and organizations in the adoption world, and advocating for sound policies so that every child can thrive in a nurturing, permanent family. LEARN MORE

Plus One Adoption Foundation

The Plus One Adoption Foundation, Inc. is committed to shifting the mindset of adoption from a last option to a choice. They focus on promoting research, education and public awareness surrounding the adoption of children. LEARN MORE

Read with Me MN

Read With Me MN is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote and celebrate diversity in children’s literature by amplifying the voices of local authors and illustrators. Read With Me MN works to close the literacy achievement gap by ensuring all children have access to literature that reflects their identities.es and education for all people and organizations in the adoption. LEARN MORE

UNICEF

UNICEF offices around the world support the strengthening of child protection systems. We work with governments, UN partners and civil society to protect vulnerable families, to ensure that robust legal and policy frameworks are in place and to build capacity of the social welfare, justice and law enforcement sectors. LEARN MORE

United Nations

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. LEARN MORE

US Citizen and Immigration Services

Each year, U.S. citizens adopt thousands of children from overseas. Adopting a child from another country can be a complicated journey, and the information on this USCIS site is designed to help you  as you move forward. LEARN MORE