When single people can't adopt, they need to have an understanding of adoption laws, adoption agencies and foster care
In this day and age, it’s hard to find a family. And that’s why so many of us turn to adoption agencies to help us build families. We’ve talked a lot about how adoption agencies help single people, but what about single people who want to adopt? The answer is pretty simple: you can’t. At least, not if you live in Pennsylvania.
Many people who want to adopt, especially single people, may believe that they can simply hop on a plane and head to another state to get an infant. They may be able to get a child in a foreign country, but they can’t get one in the United States. The reason for that is adoption laws.
Before we get into the details of adoption law, it’s important to understand what an adoption agency does. The adoption agency is a licensed organization that matches birth parents and adoptive parents together. They help with everything from paperwork to finding housing to finding jobs for the birth parent and the adoptive parents. Adoption agencies are regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which oversees the licensing requirements for any adoption agency operating in the state.
Adoption agencies are also very strict about who they allow to adopt. To qualify, the prospective adoptive parents must be married. If you’re single, you can’t adopt. You can’t adopt a child without a spouse, regardless of whether you plan to marry. There are exceptions, such as in cases where the birth mother or father has died and the child was born to someone else. These cases are called “intrafamily adoptions.”
If you’re planning on adopting, it’s important to understand the difference between an adoption and a foster care placement. If you’re married, there’s no reason that your family can’t adopt a child. But if you’re single, you can’t adopt. You can only foster. If you want to foster, the process is different than adoption, but it’s still a very important step in the process.
When a family needs to find a new home for a baby, they’ll call an adoption agency to find out if they have an opening. Most agencies only have openings for families that are married. If there is an opening, the birth parents will be required to fill out forms and undergo screenings. The adoption agency will then make sure that the birth parents are able to take care of a baby.
In some cases, the birth parents may not even want the child to leave. In those situations, the adoption agency will work to help the family keep the child, as long as the family can provide the necessary care. For example, if the birth parents are struggling financially, they might agree to pay for foster care instead of adoption.
The process of adopting is more expensive than foster care. Most adoption agencies are in the business of making money, and they charge both birth parents and adoptive parents to foster a child. The birth parents are responsible for paying the agency a fee to cover the costs of the medical examinations, the home study, and the other services that the agency provides. The adoptive parents are also expected to pay a fee to the agency.
If you’re single, you don’t have to worry about the cost of fostering. Your family doesn’t need to pay for any of that. The adoption agency will only work with couples. But even if you’re in a couple, you can’t adopt a child. That’s because the law requires the prospective adoptive parents to be married.
If you’re single, you have to decide if you want to foster or adopt. Fostering is the better choice, but it’s not the only choice.
If you want to adopt, you should understand the laws that affect you. You may have to find a family member to adopt your child. Or you may need to marry someone to adopt.