1. What is adoption?

Adoption is defined on three grounds;

1-Medical procedure or adaptability of children; the desired result of any adoption is to have the child and adoptive parents bond together as naturally as possible. However, it is not always possible for every child or every adoptive parent to bond together. Adoption therefore can be defined as a medical procedure based on clearly defined risk factors. This fact is noted in the terminology of adoption when the child is said to be “matched” with the parents.

2- Legal procedure or policy and laws; in the child’s birth country and the homeland of perspective adoptive parents that will govern the adoption. Therefore adoption becomes the legal process of uniting child and adoptive parents while first protecting the rights of that child’s birth parents. Today, all international adoptions are done under international laws such as the Hague Treaty and the International Adoption Act.

3-Life Long Procedure or the reality that the adjustment to adoption never really ends. Most adoptions have some legally required Post Adoption Procedures that can monitor the child’s immediate adjustment into the adoptive family and visa versa. However most professionals agree that adjustments for child and family observed in adoptions have many different phases over time having both long and short-term effects. This is why adoptive families are encouraged to start a “life book” as early into the adoption procedure as possible.

2. Who are the children available for adoption?

  • Infants, toddlers and children of all ages are available for adoption.
  • Most of these children come from orphanages.
  • Majority of times these children are abandoned by biological parents for socio-economic reasons and are called “social orphans”.
  • All the background information and health history is made available to parents. Such as test results on the HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis etc.
  • In Ontario only children below three years of age are considered for adoption

3. Who can adopt?

Eligibility criteria for parents differ according to the country they are adopting from though there are general focal points considered by the foreign laws like

  • Age of both parents
  • Health of parents
  • Socio-economic background
  • Marital status
  • Length of marriage
  • Number of biological children
  • Home study approval and recommendation
  • Able to provide required documentation meeting foreign requirements

4. What is the procedure of adoption?

There are two similar processes involved in inter country adoption.

1 - One to be completed in Canada

2 - One to be completed overseas

In Canada
  • Home study
  • Provincial approval
  • Immigration application
  • Documentation for overseas dossier
  • Agency representation

Overseas

  • Identification of child
  • Medicals of child
  • Legal process
  • Acquiring visa to Canada
  • Agency representation

5. How long do we have to wait?

An average wait time for overseas adoption in Canada is 1 to 2 years, depending on the country of choice. Hague Treaty countries can require the longest waiting time.

6. How much does it cost?

Cost of adoption varies from country to country. We at Mission of T.E.A.R.S. believe that all parents incurred the cost in terms of Time, Money and Emotion.

7. Can we register with more than one agency at a time?

Yes it is possible, although there are specific polices used in directive on this from the province of Ontario, which restricts this practice. It also depends on the policy of the agency you have chosen. This is more common when families originally had registered with a CAS office and then turned to an international agency later on.

8. Do we have to travel overseas for adoption?

To certain countries on the basis of their laws it is mandatory for parents to be physically present to accept the child. However other countries do not require parents to travel but they are the exceptions and are in the very small minority.

9. Who takes care of the legal process for us?

In Canada licensed agencies are required for certain provinces to provide legal support to parents applying to international adoption. Ontario is one such province. All of the agencies have to work with the home study recommendations of the licensed legal practitioners.

Most of the agencies have a partner agency overseas, which takes care of the process in the country of the child’s origin.

10. Are inter-country adoptions open or closed?

Depends on the country of origin of the child, some countries allow open adoption where as some of them have strong reservations on the open adoptions.

11.Can special needs or partially handicapped parents adopt a child?

Yes, however each case will be reviewed individually and custom designed for the process of adoption. Law in Ontario does not restrict handicapped persons from adopting. At the same time there might be reservations on accepting these parents in the country of the child’s origin.

12.How can we learn more about adoptions?

  • Give us a call and set up an appointment for a personal interview
  • If you are outside GTA, invite us for a group meeting (Information session) in your area.
  • Visit our Web - Link section for a list of some excellent site’s.
  • It is important if you feel your circumstances are unusual to have a strategy meeting with an agency first