Frequently Asked Questions
How do I Adopt?
In Ontario there are three routes to adoption: The Children’s Aid Society, through a private domestic adoption involving a social worker and licensee (see terms below) or international adoption.
Who can adopt?
The two main criteria are that you must be 18 years of age or more and a resident of Ontario. Marital status is not a criteria. The most important factor is your ability to meet the needs of the child or children you wish to adopt. The client in the process is the child, and the best interests of the child are the determining factors.
The following are the minimum requirements to begin the application process:
- Residency in Brockville, Leeds and Grenville
- Minimum 18 years of age
- Good general health
- Financially self-sufficient
- Stable relationship for two years (including same-sex couples, common-law, single applicants)
- Consent of all immediate family members
- Demonstrated healthy individual and family histories
- Sound mental health
- No substance abuse; no condoning of illegal substances
- No criminal charges pending or significant criminal background
- No verified or suspected incidents of child abuse
- No significant previous client involvement with a CAS
- Adequate living and sleeping premises for a child
- Demonstrated ability to carry out essential duties of parenting
- Ability to ensure a child will have appropriate developmental environment
- Adequate language and communication skills
- Willingness to learn new skills
- Willingness to work with the agency and other professionals
- Adequate understanding of adoptive care
- Adequate understanding of circumstances around which children come into the care of CAS
- Sensitivity to cultural differences and backgrounds of children
How much will it cost?
This depends on the route chosen as indicated above. There is no cost for a Children’s Aid Society adoption.
How long will it take?
This will depend on many things including the route chosen. The main consideration is the child or children you feel that you can parent. If a child is waiting for whom you are appropriate it can be a fairly quick process.
Adoption Disclosure
How do I search?
The route taken to search depends on where the adoption placement occurred. If an Ontario Children’s Aid Society did the placement you should
- Contact the Children’s Aid Society, which did the placement to request your non-identifying information.
- Make application for your original birth certifcate which will contain your birth name and names of birth parents
- Contact a Search & Reunion Support Group. These are listed in the directory by region.
For adoptions, which took place in another jurisdiction, you should register with Adoption Register in that jurisdiction. Canadian Adoption Registers are at the back of the directory. For private Ontario adoptions, register with the Adoption Register and contact a Search group in your area for assistance.
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Adoption Terminology
Non-identifying Information - Details about the life of a party to adoption which give the sense of what that person’s life has been like without providing enough information to locate the individual in question. That can include a physical description, ethnic background, Vocational information, hobbies, information about other family members, medical information, etc.
Open Adoption - This describes a broad range of arrangements. Some adoptions are fully open which means direct contact between birth family and adoptive family. But there are many less open arrangements in place. There can be face-to-face meetings between adoptive parent(s) and birth parent(s) prior to placement with no last names used. This can be followed up by sharing on a regular basis of photos and letters. For older children placed on adoption it can mean contact with other siblings, birth grandparents, foster parents, or in some cases birth parents.
Life Book - A book, which gives the child details on many aspects of his or her life. It can provide reasons why adoption was necessary and who the significant people in that child’s life have been. Frequently, it contains photographs of many of these people. It is not unusual for a child to have a life book that has pictures of birth family members, foster families, and special occasions. The purpose of the life book is to help the child understand who he/she is and how he/she got here. This can be important information for children who feel that they have had no control over their lives. If a child doesn’t have a life book it is a good idea to create one, with the child’s help whenever possible. The book can be added to after adoption when other significant people and events are added to the child’s life story.
Public Adoption – Adoption through a publicly funded agency. In Ontario that means one of the more than 50 Children’s Aid Societies or Family and Children’s Services organizations. In Ontario a family wishing to adopt through a publicly funded agency must deal with the agency within whose jurisdiction they live. There is no fee for service charged.
Private Adoption – In Ontario this means adoption using one of the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) approved social workers to do the home study. There is a fee for service charged for the home study. Private home studies are approved by MCSS.
Licensee – These are the only people outside of the Children’s Aid Societies and Family and Children’s Services who are allowed to place Ontario born children for adoption. Licensees work with birth parents who wish to place their children for adoption. They are required by law to offer many of the same services that the Children’s Aid Societies offer, such as birth parent counseling, foster care arrangement if a child is not placed immediately, etc. They also handle all the paperwork, and legal requirements. It is common for families who have their home study done by a private worker to send copies of their profile to several licensees. It is possible for families from other provinces to adopt children in Ontario through Ontario licensees.
Consent – In adoption terms consent may be given by a birth parent to allow their child to be placed for adoption. In Ontario the child must be 8 days of age before consents can be signed and the birth parent(s) have 21 days after that in which they can revoke the consent. If consent is revoked the child must be returned to his/her birth parents(s).
Crown Ward – A child for whom parental rights have been granted to the government. This usually happens when children are apprehended by the child welfare system.
Access Order – An access order attached to a Crown Wardship means that someone from that child’s past, birth parent(s), siblings, extended family have the right to contact with the child. A crown ward with an access order cannot be placed for adoption. In Ontario roughly 70% of these orders are used. If the access orders, which are not used, were removed that would mean at least 50% of Ontario’s crown wards should be legally free for adoption.