On behalf of Sparkman Law Firm posted in adoption on Monday, July 4, 2016.
Many Florida residents who want to start or add to their families look to adoption as one way of doing this. In addition to being able to attempt to adopt a child from Florida or another part of the United States, people may consider adopting children from other countries as well.
As explained by the United States Department of State, an international adoption must meet the laws of the adoptive parents’ state, the United States and the country from which a child is being adopted. If the child is being adopted from a country that is a part to the Hague Convention, additional requirements of that agreement must also be met. The Hague Convention was signed to bring more transparency and protections to international adoptions. Part of these protections include the required accredidation of agencies. Not all countries participate in the Hague Convention, however.
HOLT International, an international adoption agency, indicates that it takes an average of between 24 and 36 months for people to bring home their newly adtopted child from the time they submit their initial application. Many things can affect the timing which may be less or more than this average.
International adoptions must result in children being the legal children and dependents of the parents, just as if the children were physically born to the parents. An international adoption is not a guardianship. Prospective adoptive parents must successfully pass a homestudy, a process whereby a full report of them, their home and their family is prepared in order to determine their eligibility to adopt a child internationally.
