If you look through the different websites regarding adoption, you will find that there are a lot of the same steps that are required in every state. The six steps of Madison adoption in Alabama are no different.
Most expectant parents prefer to use an agency when making the excruciating decision to place their child up for adoption. This difficult task is not one that is taken lightly by anyone involved. The birth parents spend many days and nights battling within themselves to make the right decision, notably more so when the expectant mother is forced to make that choice alone or with family and/or friends pushing her toward it. According to adoption.com, this is the most important decision an expectant mother makes for her child. One great thing is that the birth parents can choose whether they want their adoption to be open or closed. Open adoption means that the birth parents and the adoptive parents agree on whether the birth parents are allowed pictures and/or video as the child grows up and whether they are allowed to see him/her and at what age. The adoptive parents also have the right to tell the child(ren) he/she is adopted when they feel the child can handle it. That gives the birth parents the opportunity to have a relationship with the child. Some prospective parents even call the birth mom “birth mom” so the child(ren) knows the difference; that the one who gave them life is their birth mom and the ones who raise them are their parents. On the other hand, there is the option of a closed adoption. Sometimes it is more difficult for the expectant mother to know anything about where their baby is and how their child is doing so they may opt out of any contact. This would include seeing the baby before he/she leaves the hospital. The hard part with this type of adoption is that when a child grows up and wants to find their birth parents, getting the names and/or addresses could prove impossible if the agency does not allow even the child access to their adoption records. This could be troublesome for the child because they may never know where they come from. Some children do not quit however until they know who their birth parents are.
There are several agencies that take care of Madison adoption in Alabama. There is The Children’s Aid Society of Alabama. Their mission is: Changing lives, building families, strengthening communities. They have several values along those lines that include but are not limited to: helping all children, no matter the age, gain the right to grow up in a loving family, the idea that by building strong families, communities are strengthened, accepting those of diverse background, and using “Trauma-Informed Practice” to aid in children developing healthy self-esteem which leads to better relationships with their foster or adoptive parents. One thing that sticks out about the Children’s Aid Society is their stance against hate crimes. “ To live better, we must Live United.” This means that, although we all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, or are raised differently, we must look past all that and realize that we all bleed red, and work together for the benefit of all the children who do not have homes.
Another agency is the Gladney Agency. Although this agency is not based in Madison, they assist adoptions all across the country.
An agency that goes deeper into the religious aspect of adoption and families is the Lifeline Children’s Agency. Like most other agencies, they have a mission: “Equip the body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children.” Their goal is to make certain that every person whether it be an expectant mother who is looking at putting her child up for adoption, a foster child who desperately needs a home or prospective adoptive parents, knows they are loved and the agency will do whatever is needed to make sure they know that; and that each individual is wanted and needed. They assist all kinds of families and children, whether it be to place a child up for adoption; helping an expectant mother make that impossible decision, helping a foster care child find a forever home, or assisting a prospective family find the addition they are looking for.
The AGAPE of North Alabama is a great agency to work with whether you are looking to adopt or foster. They use a Christian outlook on how they provide families with children or children with families. Their mission statement is, “AGAPE of North Alabama, Inc. exists to serve children and families in a spirit of Christian hope and love. We strive to make a difference by giving life to the words of James 1:27.” This agency looks out for not only the child(ren) who comes to them, but the expectant mother, assisting her and sometimes the father as well in making the best decision for their baby and themselves. Helping families who are looking into adoption to add to their family is another vital thing they do by matching expectant parents with prospective parents. This agency puts children in good foster homes so they can learn what it’s like to be a part of a family and they aid foster parents who want to adopt.
The Kids to Love Foundation is another agency that aids in adoption and foster care. According to their website, since 2004, they have been able to help over 200,000 children find homes where they are loved. A person could become a foster or adoptive parent but those aren’t the only ways you can support these children. There are things like donating to the various areas of the agency that place the children or becoming a volunteer to aid in matching families with children or letting the children know that, regardless of whether they are placed or not, they still matter.
Fostering a child, in most places makes adopting that child(ren) easier because these children have been removed from their homes for good reason: more times than not it has to do with child abuse or addiction. There are also those children who may be orphans. There are several websites that have oodles of information but the nice thing about adoption.org is that it goes into great detail on how to become a foster parent or how to foster-adopt. There are parents who look to foster older children and eventually adopt them because it seems like most prospective parents want infants, which leaves these kids with nowhere to call home.
The downside to being in the foster care system and not being adopted is that once these kids turn eighteen they are what is called, “aged out of the system.” The issue with this is that most of them have not been taught how to survive on their own. They must figure it out alone, learning by living on the streets; becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol, stealing just to eat, and/or feed their habit. For some, they are placed in a foster home where, even if they are not adopted, the foster parents care enough to make sure they go to school, make certain they have a job once they are old enough so that when they age out they have the tools they need to live a good life. The foster parents who do this more times than not, keep in contact with the children, taking pride in the way the kid(s) turns out.
Now that we have talked a bit about agencies that expectant and prospective parents could use, let’s discuss the first rules involved in fostering or adopting a child in Madison, Alabama. According to the New Beginnings Family Law, there are specific requirements that adoptive parents must meet before moving forward. The prospective parents must be over the age of 19, if the parents are married they must be married more than three years to be considered; at least one of the parents must be an American citizen; there needs to be adequate space for the child or children who are being adopted or fostered, and the parents must be in reasonably good health so that they can take care of the children’s’ needs. The largest and possibly the most important aspect of adopting in Mason, Alabama (although, these aspects must be met in the entire state), is making sure that a background check is done; especially if there is criminality amongst the parents. If there is any, there is no way an adoption could take place.
After the above items are met, and after your application has been received and looked into, there are some “classes” adoptive parents must take to assist them in understanding the child they adopt. Some children come from trauma-related incidents in their previous homes. It is pertinent that the parents take a trauma course so they learn how to handle situations they are not used to. If the parents have never experienced trauma themselves, it may be more difficult for them to understand how to help a child(ren) who has come from trauma.
Once the prospective parents have completed all the classes they need to; then comes the family profile, which is providing information about each member of the family; whether there are any biological children and how they might react to someone they do not know added to their family. After that is the home study. This seems to be hard for prospective parents because you are allowing someone you have never met into your home to evaluate, not only you as a candidate but also whether there is room for the child(ren) in your home. They also look at the relationship between the parents; are you close or is there a lot of tension? Will both parents work outside the home? Or will one stay at home; stay-at-home dads have become more and more common? How will the children already in the home feel about adding an addition to the family? Will they feel as if they have been replaced?
There are six steps to Madison adoption. Each step requires a lot of paperwork. Step one is something that must be done prior to a petition with the court. This includes: seeking that the investigation that is done prior to adoption is quashed, petitioning to have an investigation, asking that the 30 day period be vacated, and the biological parents’ consent.
Step two in this process is requesting adoption. At this point, there must be copies of certain documents such as the signed allowance for the adoption from the expectant mother, petition of the adoptive parents to obtain the child(ren), pre-placement paperwork, or the waiver for it.
The next step in the adoption process is applied before the Dispositional Hearing. This step is a long one and includes but is not limited to: the Post-placement report, making sure that the adoptive parents meet all the requirements, agreement of both the birth mother and father, permitting monies that need to be paid and the paperwork approving such, documentation from the birth parents that no money has exchanged hands as well as an affidavit from prospective parents that they did not pay the birth parents anything without the approval from the judge, and whether birth parents gave permission or not, a green card if it’s required,
Steps four through six are: obtaining a certified birth certificate for the child(ren) being adopted, the final adoption papers, and the fees that need to be paid when the VS-17 is filed.
As you can see, there is not an easy way to adopt or foster a child although fostering is not as daunting as adopting. Doing either is not for the faint of heart whether it be for the natural parents or the adoptive parents. If done correctly, this can be a rewarding experience for all involved.
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