Adopting in Alabama
Individuals who would like to adopt a child in Alabama can view many children who are waiting for families by going to the Alabama Department of Human Resources online site. Here, you can view all children looking for families or you can do a search for a child with specific criteria. Alabama also publishes A Waiting Children Newsletter that contains some pictures of waiting children. They also use the Fox 6, Birmingham, and WAAF Channel 48, Huntsville to feature children who need to find homes. Adoptive parents are matched with a child after their application has been approved. Individuals who wish to adopt an infant may contact a licensed child-placing agency. These agencies work with birth parents that choose adoption for their child.
Alabama's foster care program has hundreds of children waiting for a family of their own. Children in foster care have been taken into agency custody due to neglect or physical abuse. Many of the children have special needs, including mental, physical and/or emotional. Children are considered special needs, if their parents had problems with substance abuse or mental illness. There are many children in foster care who have siblings. Most of the time, the agencies try to find a home for the whole sibling group. A sibling group that consists of three or more is also considered special needs. In addition, older children, over age eight are considered special needs. Children, who are deemed to have special needs, may qualify for an adoption subsidy and Medicaid. This is one way that the state helps families have the financial ability to adopt and raise a child from Alabama.
Alabama's main requirement is that the adoptive parent's have the ability to parent a child with love and positive upbringing. Six additional requirements include: those seeking to adopt in Alabama, must be over nineteen years of age, married couples will be considered after their third year wedding anniversary, at least one adoptive parent must be a U.S. citizen, the child to be adopted must have personal space in the home and the home must be adequate for taking care of a child, adoptive parent's must be healthy enough to care for the child, adoptive parents must have a background check and criminal history check done.
Potential parents will need to fill out an inquiry form to receive an informational packet. Inside the information packet is an application that needs to be filled out and submitted. Group Preparation and Selection (GPS) comes next. This is a process where the families who wish to adopt meet for training purposes. Ten meetings are required for a total of 30 hours of training.
The family profile and the home study are also required before any approval will be granted. Applicants who are selected will then be given background information on a child who may be a good match for their family. The family will have an opportunity to meet the child in person, before a placement agreement is signed. The legal process to adopt will take place after three months of the child being in the adoptive home. The child is legally adopted after the legal confirmation is granted.
The Alabama Post Adoption Connections (APAC) is one resource that is available to all families who adopt in Alabama.
It's important to remember that there are children all over the world who need homes. Your child may be found in a different state or even a different country.
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