Adoption 101

Adoption 101 November 12, 2009

It’s National Adoption Month! • 65, 500 adopted children being raised by lesbian or gay parents • Of the 3.1 million lesbian and gay households in the U.S., 1.6 percent include an adopted child

Adoption Options Types of Adoption State or Public Agency Adoption

adopt a child who is in foster care from the public child welfare system

Agency Open Adoption

open adoption through an adoption agency

Open Independent Adoption open adoption where you find birth parents who want or need to place their child in an adoption International Adoption

adopt a child from another country through an agency or independently

Joint & Second Parent Adoption Joint Adoption

Second Parent Adoption

Allows an unmarried couple to adopt a child together, giving both parents legal custody of the child.

Allows a parent to adopt their partner’s biological or adoptive child without terminating the first parent’s legal status as a parent.

Local Adoption Laws Allows Allows joint adoption by adoption LGBT Individuals

Allows second parent adoption

Washington D.C

Yes

Yes

Yes

Maryland

Yes

Yes

Yes

*Some Jurisdictions

*Some Jurisdictions

No

No

Virginia

MD

Yes

VA

All Children - All Families • Enhancing LGBT cultural competence among child welfare professionals • Educating LGBT community in opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents

Post Permanency Family Center 900 Varnum St., NE Washington, DC 20017 (inside the Washington Jesuit Academy) Main Line: (202) 526 – 4802

The Post Permanency Family Center (PPFC) is a partnership between DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) and Adoptions Together. The Post Permanency Family Center was established in April 2007 to provide support, guidance and information to the adoption/guardianship community in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

PPFC services include… • Attachment-Focused Family, Couples and Individual Counseling • Clinical Case Management • Trainings (Parent and Professional) • Support Groups • Saturday Respite Program • On-Call Crisis Intervention