Single Parent Adoption: The Facts and All You Need to Know

Single parent adoption has become come to stay. Lots of single women and men, who for one reason or the other find themselves single, have resorted to adoption as an option. A report by The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) found out that about 15,000 single women and almost 2,000 single men adopted children or youth from foster caregivers in the Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2017. More than 28 percent of these kids adopted from foster care in 2017 were by single people.

Can you adopt as a single parent? The answer is yes. There are almost half a million children in the United States currently waiting to be placed for adoption. In fact, throughout the world, there are millions of children looking to be set for both local and international adoption.

Of those who have been connected to their adoptive families, 28% or almost a third of all adoption placements in the United States were single-parent adoptions. The growth may be attributed to the increased capability of single people to parent. This factor means financial competence as well as changing social attitudes. In addition, the social support group for single parents has grown quite a bit in recent years. As more and more children are placed for adoption, more prospective single parents are taking up the slack.

International single parent adoption

Apart from the United States, some countries allow single parent adoptions such as Colombia, Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Vietnam, Poland, and the Philippines. The list of countries that allow single parent adoption is relatively short for now, and there are existing restrictions to single-parent adoptions. First, many of these jurisdictions require that the prospective single parent must be the same sex as the child he or she would like to adopt. Second, many require a heterosexuality declaration. Put simply; they have to legally attest that they are only sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex. Interestingly enough, heterosexuality declaration is not required in the adoption processes involving married couples or even same-sex partners.

Finally, another requirement is that the adopted children must be beyond six years old or even ten years old in some countries. The idea is to meet the single parent adoption demand while at the same time addressing the large numbers of older children waiting to be adopted. Usually, the older the child, the harder it is to place them in an adoptive home. The bottom line? An unmarried man cannot adopt a female child in most cases, thanks to these restrictions.

Single parents do have the freedom of the law to adopt children

Can you adopt as a single parent

There are no extant laws in the united states that prohibit single moms and single dads from adopting. But you have to understand that some adoption agencies have some sort of marriage requirements, and the law doesn’t see that as discriminating. You have to find out if an agency has such requirements before you go ahead to work with them.

Is the single parent adoption different from married couple adoption?

The same rules govern the process. The similar steps are involved. However, there is more consideration and scrutiny for single people since you will be the sole provider and primary caregiver for the child. Whatever requirements are customarily expected of married couples, such conditions are tighter when it comes to prospective single parents. You will need to consider the single parent adoption pros and cons before you decide because your suitability to be an adoptive parent at least in terms of your financial capability is going to be much higher than the standard imposed on married couples.

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself: Will your employer allow you to call in sick or work from home if your child gets sick? Is your schedule flexible enough to allow time for your child when he or she needs you to be in school activities? Do you have enough family support of your own just in case you run into problems parenting your child? These and some other related questions come to mind. Please understand that single parenthood can be quite a challenge if you are unprepared.

First moves in single parent adoption

If you have decided to push through with your adoption plan, then the next step is to contact an adoption agency. If you wish to do a domestic adoption (meaning you plan to adopt a child from your own country), you have the option to go independent and not seek help from an agency. In theory, this makes a lot of sense but bear in mind that you will need to deal with bureaucracy as well as paperwork. There are adoption forms you have to get, process the papers, and take it from there.

Another viable option is to speak with relatives or friends who have walked the lane. They will be reasonable enough to share their experience with you and you sifter away their stumblings.

Pick the right adoption agency.

While you can save money by pursuing domestic adoption yourself, you are required to put in the time. The primary resource that you save when you hire a professional agency or consultant is time and effort. They do all the legwork for you. Still, if you need guidance, you can pick an agency that has a good record of accomplishment for single parent adoption. There are agencies in major metropolitan areas of the United States that specialize in certain types of adoptions. In your case, you must locate agencies that concentrate on single parent adoptions.

Are there single parent adoption agencies?

There are some adoption agencies that are more single mom and single dad-friendly, While they do not close their doors to married couples, they tend to have a soft side for single parents. As one, you are better off dealing with such agencies. We have had only success stories from those we recommended to such agencies in our watch-list.

As stated earlier, there are adoption agencies and professionals who request some sort of marriage requirement in order to push through an adoption. Those agencies that do not ask for such requirements are said to be single-parent friendly.

Can a single man adopt a daughter

This has become an ever-present issue in the issue of adoption by single men. For obvious reasons, there is this thing that may make it look unethical, not with the number of perverted men that are burst daily in our society.

There is nothing stopping single men from adopting, though its easier for single women to adopt

The agency and the authorities will have to use their internal mechanism to determine that your home as an adoptive parent will be safe and you will be a good nurturing dad, then you are good to go. But understand that there are some hurdles you have to go through to get there. Its a lot easier for single women to adopt males than it is for single men to adopt females.

Understand that while it’s perfectly possible for a single man to adopt a daughter, many states tend to prefer if such adoption-seeking single fathers went through the foster care system.

Also its a lot difficult if the man is seeking a newborn. Chances of success are much higher if he desires for grown-up kids. Again, this is understandable, as men are naturally viewed as not suitable to take care of new kids as women would.

Be prepared for the process

Once you get in touch with an agency and they list you for processing, be ready for what comes next. The organization will then conduct a home study to assess your overall capability to parent and support a child on your own. They will evaluate your background, income, health, criminal record, and employment history to look for specific clearance. These clearance processes can entail any kind of history of child abuse allegations, driving records, as well as your attitude towards child rearing. Many prospective adoptive single parents are caught utterly unprepared by this evaluation process. The majority of them find it too time-consuming, and it is because the whole idea is to thoroughly gauge applicants in the best interest of the child who is put up for adoption.

Get ready for training

It’s imperative to set aside time in your busy schedule for adoption training and counseling. You may want to read up on single parent adoption stories. This way, you can look at different personal journeys single parents went through. You can put yourself in their shoes and see how you can respond in their situation. During the training process, you will learn topics involving parenting obstacles. These principles include sleeping issues, attachment disorders, eating issues, talking about race, and other common hurdles.

Be sure about your personal preferences

When you are looking to adopt a child, please understand that you can be as specific as you wish when it comes to the child you want to take. This preference involves religious background, race, and other factors. On the other hand, the birth parents will also have their preferences. The key is to ensure that your choices and their choices match. This decision will have to be made between the single adoptive parent and the birth parents. To survive the possibly long wait, take this time to prepare yourself for all aspects of being a single parent. If you are adopting internationally, research on the culture, traditions, and religious beliefs of the country where your child is coming from.

Depending on the age of your child, you can also educate yourself on raising a child of a certain age because different age brackets have their own set of developmental challenges. There are many things you can do to be adequately prepared for the time you become a legal adoptive parent. By the time you meet your child, you will be ready. At this point, your agency will assist you in completing all the documentary requirements for the full transfer of rights to the child over to you. Be sure to join single adoptive parent support groups who can surely give you the type of emotional and educational assistance you need for your journey.