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How do you become an adoptive parent?
- By attending an
orientation meeting and 12 hours of training with other applicants.
- By providing
personal references and current medical reports for all family members.
- By participating
in individual interviews with the Home finding caseworker.
- By arranging for
us to speak with all family members during visits in your home.
How long does the
certification process take?
The certification process, including training and completion of
the home study, generally takes from 3-4 months.
What will it cost to
adopt?
If a family is adopting a child who is in foster care there are
no fees charged. Subsides are available to assist with the child's
day-to-day care and medical needs. In addition, parents who adopt children
with special needs are eligible to receive a one-time payment of up to
$2,000 as reimbursement for non-recurring adoption expenses related to the
legal adoption of the child.
What is subsidized adoption?
- Families
adopting handicapped or hard-to-place children are eligible for benefits
regardless of the own income.
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Medical subsidy (under New York State
Medicaid) is also
available for some children.
- Under certain circumstances,
subsidy can remain in effect until the children’s twenty-first birthday.
What is a home
study?
A home study usually consists of a series of interviews between a
family and a social worker to help applicants think through their ability
to adopt a child with "special needs". It is important that people
considering adoption be stable, sensitive, patient, and capable of giving
a child love and understanding. Social workers want to be sure that a
person or couple have a realistic understanding of the commitment they
take on when they adopt, and that they can provide a safe and nurturing
environment for a child in their home. Interviews with husband and wife or
a single adoptive parent are conducted by certified social workers.
Applicants are asked to provide written information about themselves and
their life experiences.
What information is available to
adoptive families and adoptees?
Medical information (with identifying information deleted) is
available at any time to parents who adopt a foster child and to the
adoptee when he/she reaches 18 years of age. The New York State Department
of Health also operates an
Adoption Information Registry
which allows adult adoptees to obtain non-identifying information on such
things as background information on birth parents. The Adoption
Information Registry also provides New York adoptees and birth parents
with a vehicle through which they can register if they wish to be
identified to one another.
Can the biological parents come
back to take the child?
When a child is place with the adoptive family, the parents have
previously relinquished the child to an agency, or their parental rights
have been terminated through a formal court procedure.
To begin the adoptions process, or for more
information, please call 995-5302. You can also call
1-800-454-3727, or contact the New York State Department of Social
Services
State Adoption Service.
The New York State Department of Social Services also issues Family Albums
and Blue Books which contain photographs and descriptions of children who
are available for adoption. These can also be found in local libraries or
can be viewed at our office at 112 East Post Road, White Plains, New York
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday each week, except holidays
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