Types of adoption

There are three ways in which to adopt in my area.  Here is the bare bones of it.  Adoption is not easy.  There are many hurdles and hoops to jump and ultimately whether or not you adopt is based on someone else's opinion of you and your current family make up.  Being single with no children, being single with loads of children.  Someone has an opinion on that.  Be you straight or be you gay.  Someone has an opinion on that.  If you have had fertility problems...have you resolved the emotional issues around that.  If you have suffered loss or losses what have you done to get your head screwed back on.  It is a subjective process based on theory in reality but still subjective based on the assessors life experiences, education, background etc and then those of the folks up the ladder that must approve the home assessment as well.

For those of you who are familiar with my blathering on regarding my quest to adopt again you might question why do I say that I have been waiting for five years to adopt again when I don't have a current home assessment.  Usually the home assessment is the first step.  Indeed it is.  The thing with us is we are known.  I have been in contact with the agencies over the past years and they know my desire to adopt and who it is I am looking for.  I have received a call or two however those situations did not work out i.e. parents deciding to not place their baby.  One of my children is the result of such a call, or rather they were about to call but I became aware of the situation first and beat them to it.  I have umpteen different home assessments that have been completed but in the last couple a new process has been implemented and that is what I am anxiously awaiting to begin.  Again, adoption is not easy and is always based on someone else's time schedule and shockingly enough they don't put me at the centre of their day prioritizing my needs over others!  Fancy that!

So here are the basics of adoption as I understand them in my area.  I specify my area as each province has different adoption laws.  Why make things simple and have a standardized set of rules for the whole country?

1) Public adoption meaning it is through the province either by way of their straight adoption program or adoption through foster care. There is no cost for this

2) Private adoption. There are four private agencies approved to complete adoptions in the province. This is a fee for service process whereby the agency completes the home assessment and all required documents. Expectant parents wanting to place their children for adoption contact the agency and are shown profiles of prospective waiting families from which to choose. The agencies are also able to complete international adoptions as well.

3)Direct placement. This is when someone wishes to place their child with someone they know or choose without the assistance of an agency etc. A home assessment may or may not be necessary based on the determination of the judge when it reaches his attention (all adoptions are finalized by a Court of Queen's Bench judge). There is an actual self serve adoption package that families can use.

There you have it.  Of all three types I have completed adoptions each way.

I don't care how a baby finds me I just hope they find me.