Birth Parents -> Adoption Process
Should you decide to proceed with an adoption plan for your child, Helen, as your birth parent counselor, will patiently guide you through the adoption process as well as help you ensure that this is the right decision for you and your child.
There are three main steps to the adoption process:
- Choose a Licensee or Licensed Agency.
- Choose the adoptive family for your child.
- Meet with the adoptive family that you chose.
Choosing a Licensee or Licensed Agency
The first step in the adoption process is for you to choose a Licensee or a Licensed Agency. Both perform the exact same function and are licensed by the government to manage the legal details of the adoption. A licensee is an authorized individual and a licensed agency is an authorized organization. Upon meeting Helen, she will immediately work with you on choosing the right licensee or agency and help you connect with one. You may wish to choose one yourself by visiting the government website. (Click here for a list of Licensees, click here for a list of licensed agencies.)
Choosing the Adoptive Family for your Child
Choosing the adoptive family for your child will be one of the most important decisions you will make on this journey. Once you have made the decision to place your child for adoption, you will then start considering the characteristics of the adoptive family you want for your child. A family can be a couple who have children already, a couple without children, or a single individual. To help you with this decision, you may wish to read Issues to Consider Before Reviewing Family Profiles.
After you have had a chance to think about the characteristics that are important to you in an adoptive family, Helen will discuss your ideas with you and then arrange to have the licensee or licensed agency provide profiles of approved prospective adoptive families for you to review. All of the families on a licensee’s or an agency's active waiting list have completed homestudies and have had police, medical and reference checks done. The profiles typically consist of a "Dear Birth Mother" letter and several photos as well as many other details about their family.
Some birth parents can make a decision after reading just a few profiles, but most take a lot of time. If you are not comfortable with any of the profiles you reviewed, definitely ask for more. This is your choice to make!
Meeting the Adoptive Family
After you have chosen the family that you feel you want to adopt your child, you will then have the opportunity to meet the family in person. Before that meeting, Helen will help you to make a list of questions that you can ask the family during the meeting. Think about what you want for your child and what's important to you. Please see examples of questions you might pose to the family by reading Questions To Ask Potential Adoptive Families.
Although, you may be nervous before and during this meeting, it is important that you ask many questions and give much thought and consideration on how you feel about the family. Helen will be at the meeting with you and will help you to review your thoughts about the adoptive family afterwards. You must feel certain that this is the right family for your child. If you do not feel for any reason that they are not, you can choose another family's profile.
Additional Information
During the adoption process, the government of Ontario requires birth parents to review the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Service's adoption guide document. Helen will review this document with you, however, if you wish to read this now it is called Are You Thinking About Adoption for Your Child? Also, please see our FAQs for birth parents which answers additional questions.