Civil Law: Adoption
Definition: Adoption is the act of legally raising another individual's biological child, as one's own.
There are 4 different types of adoption to choose between:
a) Public Adoption
b) Private Domestic Adoption
c) International/Intercountry Adoption
d) Adoption of Stepchild or Relative
All adoptions in Ontario happen through the Ontario Court of Justice
This is a strand of Family Law
Public Adoption
When a child is adopted from permanent care of a Children's Aid Society & children in extended society.
Standard Procedure:
Potential parents apply to Children's Aid Society for service Mandatory adoption training program Conduction of HomestudyOnce passed, parents are AdoptReadyPotential matches are then found for a pair of parents, who then get to know the child through their social worker After thorough thought from both parties, the prospective parents are introduced to the child A string of pre-placement visits are held 6 months of supervision are held with the adoption worker providing support for the parents and it is essentially a waiting period of all the legal work to be finalized Adoption is finalized in the court where the adoptive family lives, and the process is over.
In 2001 it was reported that more than 20 000 children are living under the protection of the state permanently and only around 2000 are adopted a year, people opt more for Intercountry Adoption rather than adopting orphaned children from Canada.
Glossary
Adoption Training Program: a course called PRIDE (Parent Resources fo Information Development and Education) for all interested parents consisting of 9-modules and 27 hour educational program.
Homestudy: An Adoption Practitioner assesses the family or person applying for adoption. Through this, the practitioner will achieve a consensus about children most appropriate for the person/family.
AdoptReady: Once the training and homestudy is complete, the family is legally eligible to have a child placed in their care.
Pre-placement Visits: Prior to the finalization of the adoption, the child is given the chance to familiarize themselves with the family and their home before permanently moving in.
Private Domestic Adoption
Adoption of a child through licensed private adoption agencies or licensed professional.
Standard Procedure:
Contact and hire a PRIVATE adoption practitionerConduct homestudy and mandatory training, the same as done in Public Adoption The adoption agency will network a match best suited to environment of the perspective family
the birth parent will choose an adoptive family for their child
once the birth parent has chosen a family, they will be contacted y the adoption agency Birth parent is given 21 days to change their mind after they consent, and the adoption must be approved my the ministry The adoption licensee applies to Ontario court to finalize the adoption
While Public Adoptions are free of cost, Private Domestic Adoptions cost between $15 000 - $30 000 for the adoption licensees fees and there are additional fees for homestudy + PRIDE training program.
International/Intercountry Adoptions
Adoption of orphaned/abandoned children from outside Canada without many adoption opportunities in their own country.
Children who are relatives have chances of being placed with extended family in Ontario, if the adoption is best for the child
Standard Procedure:
Contact a licensed agency or individual (there is a specific license for international adoptions) Hire a private adoption practitioner Completing mandatory training (PRIDE) with a homestudy (like the other two kinds of adoptions) Adoption agency will find a suitable match for perspective parents - if there is no update within 2 years, the homestudy and approval must be conducted again
Once an update has come through, the adoption licensee will receive a proposal to ensure it matches the parent's conditions Travelling to the country and bonding with the child Finalization of adoption in the country of origin. Child must remain in the country until final adoption order is processed and the child's immigration clearance documentation is received. Immigration into Canada (b) if the finalization is in an Ontario court, there is a 6 month supervision period and if passed then they will apply to the Ontario court to issue the adoption
Lastly, most countries ask for post-adoption reports
Hague Conventions
An international agreement signed by multiple countries to ensure the safety and protection of internationally adopted children. If the child is abducted by their parents, the policy is to immediately send the child back to their country of origin.
Criteria
Respect the child's human rights The adoption is in the best interests of the child There is effective cooperation between countries (to prevent abduction, trafficking, selling) No private adoptions from home country Both countries must be in alignment with the adoption
| Additional | Information | Additonal | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - Intercountry adoption must be legal in the residing province/territory | - Countries such as: Cambodia (except Quebec), Georgia, Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal are -banned in all province and territories | - Certain countries have restrictions on Canadians adopting from there | - Such as: Argentina, Benin, Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, the Maldives, Iraq | - Informed consent from any living parents of the prospective child is necessary |
| + Most adoptions take place in the adopted child's original country (if the child is from Vietnam, the adoption will most likely take place and be finalized there) | ++ However, if the adoption is to take place after the child has arrived in Canada, they are governed by the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) | +++ Agency fees can be from $20 000 - $50 000, not including fees for homestudy, mandatory training and travel accommodations |
Stepchild/Relative Adoption
Adoption of a child who is either a member of an extended family or a stepchild of prospective parent.
| Child in Ontario |
|---|
| There is no requirement for an adoption licensee, the adoption can happen directly in court through aid of a lawyer |
| Child outside of Canada |
|---|
| This process is the same as the International Adoption. Can be very lengthy and requires the assistance of an adoption licensee (individual or organization) and there will be a conducted study of the home and mandatory training (PRIDE) as well. |
Case Study
This is a case study from what was known as the "Sixties Scoop" -- essentially referred to as the abundant removal of Indigenous children from their families/ communities.
They were then sent to live with predominantly non-indigenous families, causing them to lose their cultural identity and be emotionally distant from their birth families. The detrimental impacts of this havoc continue to be prevalent presently.
Many of these children only learned about their heritage later on in their lives which did not allow them to fully embrace their culture, and instead caused evident frustration.
After hundreds and thousands of children were abducted from their homes, the government had finally reached a settlement in 2017 with $800 million with the survivors.
This goes against every adoption policy created in Canada. It is evident this was due to racial bias and wanting to limit the Indigenous population in Canada. All laws of adoption require the consent of the birth parents, consider if it is in the best interests of the children and if the children are going into loving, nurturing homes. However, that was not the case, this cultural genocide caused many children to end up in unstable, abusive homes, who did not let the children know their identity later on in life and were taken completely without the consent of their birth parents.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sixties-scoop
https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/sixties_scoop/