Definition of Domestic Adoption

Adoption is the legal procedure by which parents and children not related by blood become a legal family, with the parents assuming all the rights and responsibilities of the children as if they had given birth to them. Newborn children, through age 18 can become members of a new family, with single or coupled parents.

  1. Domestic

    • Domestic refers to adoptions that take place within the adoptive parents' country or origin, such as United States citizens adopting other United States citizens.

    Considerations

    • Domestic adoption costs between $25,000 to $30,000 for newborns, and up to around $5,000 for waiting children.

    Features

    • Domestic adoptions can be either public or private. Public domestic adoptions are handled through an adoption agency and private adoptions are handled by attorneys. Costs are similar.

    Features

    • Domestic adoptions can also be either open or closed. In open adoptions, birth families and adoptive families meet one another and stay in contact (how much contact depends on the individuals involved). In closed adoptions, adoptive families don't even know the name of the birth mother.

    Time Frame

    • Approximately 80 percent of families waiting for newborns were able to take their children home within one year. Choosing to adopt a waiting child takes even less time.

    Famous Ties

    • Many celebrities have used domestic adoption to build their families, including Jodie Foster, Calista Flockhart and Jamie Lee Curtis.

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