AUSCC

Adoption is God’s way of making sure that there’s a child for every home that yearns for one and a family for every child that longs to belong. The laws of adoption vary from country to country, and in Canada, from province to province. The process can be carried out through the public child welfare system, private adoption agencies or approved adoption practitioners and licensed authorities. Below you will find a few facts and laws related to adoption in Canada:

· If you are governed by the laws of Quebec and Newfoundland, you must be 25 or above to qualify as an adoptive parent.

· If you are looking to adopt a child from an international location, you have to qualify under both the laws of the province or territory you live in and the adoption rules of the country the child belongs to. International adoption is a long and arduous process and you must complete the adoption process and the Canadian citizenship process before you’ll be allowed to bring the child into the country. Because of the need to place war-related orphans in good homes, international adoption is governed by The Hague Convention.

· Family members can adopt children of relatives after the child’s consent has been sought if he/she is over the age of 12 or after the child has been interviewed by an authorized person if he/she is between the ages of 7 and 11. Relative or family adoptions do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

· Adoption is a pretty expensive process, with applications, fees, documents and forms related to the legal process alone costing between $6,000 and $10,000.

· It’s extremely difficult to adopt infants below the age of 2.

· Adopted children must be treated on par with biological children – they are entitled to the same child support and inheritance rights.

· There are basic healthcare and nursing requirements for adoptive parents such as regular x-ray program schedules and regular checkup requirements.

· Same-sex couples in Canada are within their legal rights to adopt in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia.

· Amidst questions regarding the wisdom of keeping adoption records secret, (so that the birth parents have no information about the child they gave up for adoption and vice versa) some provinces in Canada have opened their doors to “open adoption”, a process long in practice in the United States where the birth mother (and father if he is in the picture at the time) choose the adoptive family they wish their child to belong to. An intermediate agency acts as the liaison between the families and both sides agree to stay in touch through letters, emails, photos and even visits as the child grows older.