When an adoption takes place on Canadian soil, the incorporation is considered absolute. What it implies is that under the Canadian laws, the status of the adopted child is on equal footing to that of a biological child. For instance, biological children don’t have any privileges over the adopted ones when it comes to child support or intestates.
Qualifications for adoption
Adoption with it carries some profound legal consequences that the newly adopted child and the parent both have to go through. In light of these legal consequences, some provinces in Canada have set a special age, which must be attained by the applicant before he/she can file an application for adoption. Also, an important point to remember – adoption in Canada is provincially regulated. This means that the qualifications and regulations surrounding adoption are subject to change depending upon which province you live in. The regulations might also be different for different channels of adoption like private, public or international.
Irrespective of what province you are living in, every potential parent is required to complete a homestudy. A homestudy consists of an in-depth application and interview process. Both of these processes are generally conducted by a qualified social worker. Potential adoptive parents go through interviews and also through various kinds of reference, police and background checks. These checks are also generally accompanied by home visits. The requirements for a homestudy vary from province to province.
Almost all provinces require the potential adoptive parent to go through certain adoption readiness training or preparation before they are permitted to adopt.
Cost of adoption
A number of variables come into play when discussing the cost of adoption. It depends on the type of adoption you undertake, if you are working with an agency, the province you reside in and other associated costs like travel. If you are planning to adopt through a public child welfare system, then you won’t have to spend much.
Process duration
The adoption process can range from 9 months to 9 years. This duration also depends on what type of adoption you plan on undertaking. So, if you plan on adopting internationally, the process can vary a lot as different countries have different regulations and rules related to adoption. For instance, Canada has no legal prohibitions to same-sex adoption. But this is not the norm across the globe. There are countries that do not permit international adoptions by couples who are of the same sex. Get in touch with your local agency to get a thorough knowledge regarding the applicable guidelines.
A good way to speed up the adoption process is by being more educated and informed regarding the whole process. A good way to do that would be to understand the guidelines, legislation and requirements of your particular province. If you want to to know more about the adoption process in Canada, then get in touch with Prowse Barrette (Previously Prowse Chowne).