Adoption and Birth Records in America - Essay Example

Adoption and birth records in America February 2, 2006 Adoption and birth records in America Adoption is the legal process by which a child is permanently placed under the care of persons who are not the child’s birth parents. This makes the persons legally responsible for the child in the same way the birth parents would be. The birth parents however, can no longer claim the rights of parents and are no longer obligated for the responsibilities of the child either. Once the process is complete there is no difference in the eyes of the law regarding the position of adopted children or children by birth (Wikipedia, 2006). While it may sound simple, the total process is complicated, lengthy and time consuming for the people who wish to adopt someone (Laws & OHanlon, 1999). As explained, for anyone to go through the ordeal of adopting would mean that they really wanted to adopt the child in the first place. However, there have been demands from some corners to simplify the procedure and allow for more adoptions to take place (Smith, 2006). The reasons for adoption are many and but mostly simple. A child could be placed for adoption as a result of the biological parent’s wish, knowing that they would be unable to care for the child in a suitable manner. In other cases, the laws of the state may force a parent to give up a child if the child is found to have been harmed due to abuse, criminal neglect or was abandoned by the parent. American courts have the power to terminate parental rights and put the child in foster care for eventual adoption by someone else (Laws & OHanlon, 1999). Only a few adoption cases in America are connected with situation where the child was orphaned due to the death of both parents. For people wishing to adopt a child, infertility or a conception problem can be common reasons. A person may have a genetic or inheritable disease which they might not wish to pass on and look for an adopted child. Same sex couples or single individuals may also seek to adopt a child to increase their family. Couples may also choose to adopt someone even though they can have children simply because they might believe it is more ethical to care for a child who needs it. Others still consider adoption to be equally viable and useful towards the building of a family as is natural birth (Babb, 1999). The method of becoming an adoptive parent varies considerably across various states in America. In broad terms, a child’s eligibility for adoption and the criteria for becoming an adoptee parent will depend on several factors which check the legality of the adoption process and the future prospects of the child in his/her new house. There can be maximum or minimum age requirements for the new parents, minimum income requirements, and the marital status of the person(s) (Weiss, 2001). There is also a huge debate and a lot of controversy over allowing same-sex couples to adopt a child and there have been arguments presented on both sides of the issue (Weiss, 2001). At this point in time, most states are hesitant to enact legislation which recognizes same-sex couples and often does not even permit them to apply for becoming adoptive parents. In America, adoption applications are handled by state agencies or reputed non-profit companies who seek to match children with parents. These agencies require licenses to operate and must work on a non-profit basis. As Hatch (2003) reports, most parents seek to adopt infants or young children therefore the agencies and state authorities always look for people who can handle such important responsibilities. When an application is made for an adoption, the parents will be assessed on several scales. An agency may want to perform a home study, take interviews of the adoptive parents and their family members, talk to other children in the family, look at medical financial and police records and even make inquiries about them from the neighbors (Babb, 1999). Since most people seeking to adopt a child prefer to have a health child from their own race, agencies tend to give preference to parents who are willing to adopt a child from a different ethnicity or are willing to take care of a child with special needs (Hatch, 2003). However, it must be noted that caring for a child with special needs is a very long term commitment for the adoptive parents and the agency should be even more selective when handling children with special needs (Babb, 1999). To prevent a situation of coercion or misuse of power, some states demand that inquires should not be handled by the adoption agency but a third party. Others allow the agency to make the inquiries since they have to judge whether the person(s) should be allowed to adopt that particular child or not. In either case, the background check is complete and reputable agencies will seldom allow unsuitable parents to ever take the responsibility of a child (Laws & OHanlon, 1999). There can be situations where a person would like to give up their child for adoption but the agency would prevent contact between the adopting parents and the birth parent(s). In these cases, the adoption process may be handled by a lawyer working on behalf of the adopting parents. The adopting parent’s information is not disclosed and this is called a closed adoption. If the birth parent is allowed to contact the adoptive parents or in some cases communicate with the child it is considered an open adoption (Wikipedia, 2006). A closed option could be preferred by the adoptive parents if they think that the birth parent could harm the interests of the child. For instance, if a child was taken away from the birth parent due to charges of neglect or abuse, the adoptive parents may seek to prevent further contact between the child and the birth parent by having a closed adoption. After adoption, the child becomes the legal responsibility of the adopting parents therefore they can choose to close an open adoption if they desire to do so (Wikipedia, 2006). Other than the closed adoption process, there is also the cooperative adoption process where birth parents contact terms with the adopted child are predefined in the shape of a contract. The means of contact can be anything from the simple exchange of information regarding the child amongst the adoptive and birth parents to weekly or bi-weekly in person visits between the child and the birth family members (NAIC, 2004). In actual terms, a cooperative adoption may be preferred when the child is a non-infant and would express a wish to see his/her birth parents. The NAIC (2004) recommends this system when the contact would be beneficial for all concerned. Such contact could be useful for the adoptive parents incase they need to find out more about the child’s medical, social or cultural history. At the present time, there are several legal requirements which slow down the process for people wishing to adopt a child. For instance, in case the child is to be given up for adoption by a single mother, the adopting parents have to legally show that they tried to find and contact the father in good faith (Laws & OHanlon, 1999). This means paying for advertisements in newspapers for four weeks, having to running searches on computer databases and even hiring a separate agency which specializes in seeking out missing persons. Although computers and information tools can help in seeking out people (Solove, 2004), this simply adds to the cost of adoption and demands have been made to remove this legal stipulation (Smith, 2006). Another part of the adoption process which has been a cause of some reversals in a birth mother’s decision has been the ten day waiting period after the birth of the child before the mother can legally surrender the child for adoption. In Virginia, even after a mother has surrendered the child, she can change her mind in the next fifteen days. That basically gives her 10 days to form a bond with the child, and two more weeks in which she can discover that she misses the child and then choose not to surrender him/her (Smith, 2006). The provisions and requirements for adopting children have always been complicated since the government is always more interested in criminal prosecution and retaining the child in a foster home in case the child was not lost due to neglect and the real parents are actively searching for the child. The legal problem here is the grant of consent for adoption which is currently required from the parent of the child (Smith, 2006). In conclusion, the process, method, reasons and rationale for adoption are not only complicated, they are also charged with emotional baggage for all concerned parties. It is therefore the responsibility of the government and the adoption agencies to work with the families and ensure that it goes as easily, quickly and efficiently as it can. Works Cited Babb, A. (1999). Ethics in American Adoption. Connecticut: Bergin Garvey/Greenwood. Hatch, I. A. (2003). The Adoption Eclipse: Choices Count. Tennessee: Penman Publishing. Laws, R. & OHanlon, T. (1999). Adoption and Financial Assistance: Tools for Navigating the Bureaucracy. Connecticut: Bergin Garvey/Greenwood. NAIC. (2004). Cooperative Adoptions: Contact Between Adoptive and Birth Families After Finalization. Retrieved February 6, 2006, from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Website: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/cooperative.cfm Smith, T. (2006, February 7.).Adoption changes proposed: Bills aim to shorten some waiting periods, generally make the process easier. Richmond Times-Dispatch. pA5. Solove, D. (2004). The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age. New York: NYU Press. Weiss, A. E. (2001). Adoptions Today: Questions and Controversies. Connecticut: Twenty-First Century Books. Wikipedia. (2006). Adoption. Retrieved February 6, 2006, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption. Read More