When someone or a couple seeks to become a parent through adoption, they’re often focused on sharing their lives and traditions with someone who they will love for the rest of their lives. Adoption is a noble choice, especially because the adoption qualification process isn’t exactly a cakewalk.
The silver lining is that most of the challenge hopefully adoptive parents face boils down to meeting very stringent basic requirements and pass a home assessment test. That, in addition to the financial cost of hiring legal representation or using a child placement agency, is generally what keeps people who wish to adopt up at night.
Take a second, breathe, and rest assured: There’s always a way to work through the obstacles, and that journey begins by understanding how you’ll be evaluated as a prospective adoptive parent. Before undergoing any assessments, however, consult with an adoption attorney who can advise you of strategies on how to talk honestly about yourself and your life in areas where you fear you may disqualify.
Basic Adoption Requirements in Oklahoma
When it comes to adopting a child, there are basic biographical qualifications that you must meet before you can even consider the possibility. Above all, you must be 21 years old or older. This age requirement is probably the most important because it’s one of the few black-and-white facts about you that determine your qualification.
Other qualifications can be left to interpretation, even though some deal with facts, numbers, and figures. You must be in reasonably good health, for example, although your definition of what that means can differ from the authorities’. The same goes for your ability to manage your income and how much you bring in to afford the child’s needs.
Even more nebulous, perhaps, is the requirement that you are capable of “understanding, loving, and accepting a child” and act as a good role model. While judgment may not be too nuanced in this category, that it is up to the government’s idea of what that looks like could conflict with some of your beliefs and values.
Take heart, however, knowing that any pokes or prods into your personal life are a necessary part of a good-faith process of ensuring you are a fit parent who will love, care, and provide for a child.
Completing a Home Assessment
After you’ve been determined to meet basic adoption qualification requirements, a deeper look into your (and your partner’s) life will begin.
You can expect to undergo the following during this assessment:
- Background checks
- Reference checks
- Medical examination report
- Fingerprinting
- Interviews with all family members
- Income verifications
- Pet vaccine verifications
- Vehicle insurance verifications
- Completion of a 27-hour resource family orientation
And, of course, there will be the namesake of this part of the process: the house safety assessment. During this evaluation, you’ll need to ensure your home is safe for children through a variety of criteria from basics such as ensuring your carbon monoxide detectors are working, to providing gates for stairways, locking up firearms and ammunition in separate containers, covering pools or hot tubs, etc.
Marital Status & Sexual Orientation Aren’t Factors
Lastly, while the general public might believe that only a married heterosexual couple or someone of a specific gender can adopt a child, these misconceptions simply aren’t true.
If you meet the basic requirements and complete a successful home assessment, you can qualify to adopt for a child from a public agency without regard for your marital status, gender, or sexual orientation.
Facilitating Adoptions for Clients
At Bundren Law Firm, P.C., our adoption attorney can help you through the rigorous qualification process of adoption. As you’ve just seen, there are many requirements you must meet before you’ll be able to expand your family.
Helping you feel confident that you’ll meet each qualification criterium without hesitance is our goal, and we can walk you throughout the whole process toward the result that works best for your family.
Begin working with us today by contacting Bundren Law Firm, P.C. online or calling (918) 992-3300 to schedule a case evaluation.