Preventing Adoption Disqualifications

In the US, more than 400,000 children have been placed into foster care with the hope of finding adoptive parents. But there is a surplus of possible parents looking to adopt from this pool of available children. It is estimated that one-fourth of children eligible for adoption will eventually be adopted through foster care, private placement, or kinship arrangements. If you are motivated to find a child to adopt, it is important to understand the landscape of regulations that will determine whether you qualify as an adoptive parent.

The biological parents of children in the foster care system often have socioeconomic, marital, or medical issues that can become barriers for adoptive parents. Then also, adoptive parents themselves may have background factors that can disqualify many of them who were otherwise qualified to adopt a child.

An Unbundled family law attorney can schedule a consultation to discuss the best options based on your circumstances. You can discuss a budget to pay for legal services needed to place a child in your care through an agency or private placement adoption. Whichever path you choose for your adoption, you should have the benefit of consulting an experienced family law attorney early in the process well before you contact an adoption agency.

Legal consultation will familiarize you with the factors that determine how long it can take to win court approval for adopting your child. The average time is six to 18 months. However, newborns average longer wait times (up to two years). International adoptions take the longest and for those, the wait can be six years.

Potential Disqualification Reasons

Home Study Review

When a child in foster care is being considered for adoption, a social worker conducts a home study visit to the home of the adoptive parent to confirm that the parent is fit to adopt children. The home study visit involves interviews with family members, their work colleagues, and friends. The home study cost ranges from $1,000 to $3,000.

You should discuss with your home study with a family law attorney to address issues that may result in the denial of your adoption application. Home study visits may cover:

• Physical exams
• Autobiographical statements
• Financial statements, including excessive financial debt or income levels that fall short of supporting your lifestyle
• Work history
• Criminal background check
• Medical or mental health issues that impact your parental fitness
• Someone living in your home who is considered a high risk for drug use or other behavior endangering a child
• False statements made to a caseworker, or an uncooperative or antisocial disposition during interviews

Legal Issues in Adoption Denial

There are two sides to an adoption – the biological parent and the adoptive parent. We’ve seen that there are also third parties involved in an adoption approval process – that third party is the court.

As you might expect, laws in every state are written to protect the best interests of a child. Those laws can become barriers for otherwise qualified applicants. For that reason, you should be familiar with the rules for adoption in your state before you submit your petition to adopt a child. Those who are familiar with the various systems for child adoption in different states report that some of the laws and regulations seem to be applied to some applicants in such a restrictive manner that they function as barriers to parents who are highly motivated to start a family through child adoption. Issues can surface in your background report that become barriers to your application.

You and your unbundled attorney can collaborate to prepare your adoption petition so that you successfully navigate any legal system barriers an adoptive parent encounters. It is often not a perfect or even a fair system for adoptive parents, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful child adoption applicant.

Denied Petitions

If your adoption petition is denied, you will be notified in the form of a court order. Your remedy is to file a legal appeal, and it is important to consult a family law attorney who can file the appeal within the time limits required by the court.

Lack of Fitness

An adoption petition in general terms is denied when the court perceives you lack the fitness to be a parent. The foster care system and courts in general decide cases in favor of the best interests of the child. 

Their denial can be your opportunity to clarify for the court that their reasons cited in the denial of your application are misplaced. Look at an adoption denial as an opportunity to establish your fitness to be a good parent. Therefore, ask your attorney to consult with you and craft a response that presents your parenting fitness in a strong way that confirms you can be a good parent.

International Adoption

Americans who adopt children internationally file an immigration application through the US immigration process so the foreign-born child can qualify to live in the US. You should discuss the child’s immigration status, and your own, with a family law or immigration attorney before proceeding with an international adoption.

Some countries have so many children that need parents their adoption approval process is flexible. Haiti, for example, has 200,000 orphans, and its international adoption program incentivizes the adoption of any special needs children.

Omission of Detail

In any legal proceeding, such as your adoption petition, it is required that every detail in your petition needs to be filled out and submitted in a way that is responsive to the law. Therefore, your petition may have been denied because of an error or omission in filing out or answering the form in the way the court approves.

Qualification Differences Between Kinship Adoption and an Unrelated Child

Young mothers who are uncomfortable when facing the responsibility of being full-time caregivers for their infants are often more comfortable giving legal custody to a relative whom they already know well and can feel comfortable as the caregiver for their child. That can resolve doubts about personal circumstances that seem to prevent her from being a good caregiver. Kinship adoption is a way for a child’s biological relative to be awarded legal child custody.  

Child’s Biological Parent Changes Their Mind and Claims Custody

Before the biological parent’s formal surrender of their parental rights to a child, a child’s biological parent may change their mind and decide not to give up her baby for adoption. Also, a biological parent’s next of kin may offer to submit a claim as an adoptive parent based on kinship interests. Regardless of which circumstance creates a barrier to the adoption you face, your family law attorney can investigate the court’s reasons found in the official denial and discuss with you how best to craft an effective response that helps you overcome the court’s denial of your formal petition.

Family courts protect the best interests of a child. So when a claim is made by a relative of the child’s biological parent, courts may favor keeping the biological family together through kinship. If you are related to the child’s biological parent, it is important to consult your family law attorney who can explain the legal options available to you through an appeal of a court’s denial of your adoption petition. If you believe in your fitness to be a good parent, talk to your attorney about filing an appeal.