Adopting a Child -
How Long Should It Take?

Most parents want to experience all the joys of having children, however, everyone is not gifted with the natural means to do so. Adopting a child is a good alternative to considered when this is the case.

With the help of child specialists, lawyers and social workers, childless parents or even parents who want to have yet another child can be matched to a child who they can take home.

As you may be aware, adopting a child has been glorified in the media. With many movie stars gracing the covers of various magazines and newspapers. I am grateful for all of their cross-continental goodwill missions and interracial adopting, however, despite all of this publicity, adoption is far from easy.

First, you will have to be matched with a child, and then the matching will be scrutinized by a team of specialists before being approved. You may come across some adoption services that will boast that they can match you with a child within 24 hrs.

But in reality, this waiting time can take as long as two years. This is all due in part to a thorough evaluation of both parents educational and employment backgrounds. In addition, both parents must undergo lifestyle checks, with their public records subjected to scrutiny by legal experts and child psychologists.

If you are picky and only want a child of a certain gender, age, race or familial background, the matching time will take even longer. However, if none of this really matters to you, it will be easier to match a child with you and may not take so long.

Another important factor is the degree of openness you are willing to have with the child and their birth parents. You could choose an open adoption, where the child and birth parents have access to each other; a semi-open adoption, where the child has little access to their parents; or a closed adoption, where the child's past is entirely closed to them. Any one of these options will affect the way your adopted child thinks and feels later on in life.

If you are adopting a child, get in touch with a lawyer who specializes in adoption. Make a list of requirements that you may have for the child you would like, so that your lawyer can give you an idea of precisely how long you will be waiting to adopt.

How Long is the Waiting List for an Older Child Adoption?

As for how long it will take to adopt an older child or a special needs child even, will all depend on where you live and what type of adoption (private, identified etc) you undergo.

In most cases, once your homestudy and other papers are processed you may be able to get a child within 6 months depending on your agency.

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