How long will it take to adopt a child is one question prospective parents ask on a regular basis. The answer is a question:
How open are YOU to the issues in adoption?
How long you wait directly depends on the flexibility of your adoption plan. The simple answer: the more open you are on the following six issues, the shorter the wait.
The six main issues are:
- RACE
- LEVEL OF ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
- LITTLE OR NO PRENATAL CARE
- BIRTH FATHER PATERNITY
- MEDICAL HISTORY OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
- BIRTH PARENT CONTACT AND OPENNESS OF ADOPTION
These would not be issues to overcome if you have a child biologically. The race would be your own and you would have control over alcohol or other substances. Furthermore, the birth father would be known and there would not be any legal issues related to paternity. Most likely, you would be able to receive scheduled prenatal care and be fully aware of any possible hereditary issues — mental or physical.
Wait time will always be unpredictable and adoptive families must understand that the wait is dependant on the birth mother. The reason one family is chosen ahead of another is unique to each birth mother.
To learn more about the adoption process, as well as how to complete a home study and adoption profile, click here.
Parker Herring is a Board Certified family law specialist who has practiced in Wake County, N.C. for more than 32 years. She has three children through adoption and assisted reproduction, and in 2000 she started the adoption agency A Child’s Hope. The agency focuses on connecting North Carolina birth mothers with North Carolina newborns to North Carolina Adoptive Parents. The agency has placed more than 353 children since it’s opening. The multiple adoption journeys of her own family and her personal experiences with fertility treatments continue to be the driving force behind her work in the areas of adoption and assisted reproduction. She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and received her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.