Adopting a Child
What is Adoption?
Adoption provides children with a permanent family. It is a social, emotional, and legal process through which children become permanent legal members of a family other than their birth family while recognizing that children's psychological, genetic and kinship connections forever link these two families. In some cultures children are adopted psychologically and symbolically according to prevailing customs and traditions without legal sanctions. These adoptions are perceived as no less binding than those, which are legally sanctioned.
There are two pieces of legislation which govern the private and public adoption of children by Ontario residents:
- The Child and Family Services Act governs all adoptions that are finalized in Ontario
- The Intercountry Adoption Act governs international adoptions finalized in the child's country of origin
Adoption services in Ontario are administered by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
The Children's Aid Society of the City of Kingston and County of Frontenac is responsible for adoption of children in the Society's care in Frontenac county. The Society also assists birth parents seeking to place their children for adoption or individuals seeking to adopt a family member who is currently residing in another part of Ontario or Canada.
Ways of Adopting Through the Frontenac Children's Aid Society
Under the Child and Family Services Act there are two ways in which a child can become legally free for adoption:
- The birth parents consent to the adoption of their child by signing an Adoption Consent any time after seven days following the child's birth. The parents may withdraw their consent within 21 days of the date they gave consent.
- Parental rights are terminated through the Court and an order of Crown Wardship without access is obtained. A Crown Wardship order is made by the Courts on determination that in the child's best interests he or she can no longer live with his or her parents. If such an order is obtained, the Society is required by law to make all reasonable efforts to secure an adoption placement, if adoption planning is in the child's best interests.
In Frontenac County, many families who are interested in growing their family through adoption choose to become Resource Foster families. Resource Foster families are families who foster "with the intent to adopt". Children are only placed with Resource Foster families when it is felt that there is a strong possibility that the children will not be able to return to live with their birth family or a kinship placement. Resource Foster parents understand that the Children's Aid Society will continue to work with birth parents and look for kinship placements for the child placed with them. Resource Foster parents understand that in some cases the child may leave their care to be placed with birth family or community members. Recognizing this, they also commit to adopt the child who is placed with them if this is determined to be the best permanent plan for the child. Resource Foster care allows children to be placed with a possible permanent family as soon as possible, which minimizes the number of changes and transitions that have to be faced by those children.
Will We Be Involved With the Child's Birth Family?
Adoptive parents must respect that the children placed with them will have feelings about their birth families as well as others with whom they have a significant relationship. The older the child, the more memories and attachments there will be to birth family members or previous caregivers. For adoptive parents, their capacity to make a lifetime commitment to a child and their willingness to validate a child's relationships with his/her birth family are essential qualities. Adoptive parents need to understand the child's connectedness to his/her birth family and be willing to engage in a level of 'openness' that will be focused on the child's best interests.
Most children in Resource Foster placements continue to have access visits with their birth family until a final Court order is obtained. In general, Resource Foster families are expected to transport the children to these visits. You may meet the birth family at this time or you may bring the child for these visits in a way that means you do not meet the birth family.
Adoptive parents may be asked to maintain some type of "openness" with a child's birth family members. This could range from an exchange of cards, letters and photographs (either directly or through the agency) to visits with birth family members. This type of openness might be maintained with a child's birth parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters or aunts and uncles. The degree of openness a child needs, the birth family members want, or what an adoptive family can accept will be explored early in the adoption process, before the child is placed with the family. At times arrangements for openness will be made informally. In other situations these arrangements may be governed by Openness Agreements or Openness Orders. These Agreements or Orders would be governed by Sections 145.1, 145.2 and 153.6 of the Child and Family Services Act.