How do adoption agencies decide if you are fit to raise a child?

tickled blue

Depends on the agency. If you are adopting internationally, for example, much of it is based on the home country's opinions of what you should be....some will only allow thin/healthy people to adopt....some will only allow married couples, etc.
If you are adopting through foster care, they aren't looking to deny you unless you have been shown to be a danger to children in your past. They are basically wanting to know who you are, what you do--for a living and for hobbies/interests, what your financial situation is, what your home life is like, how much room and time you have for a child, your stability level, your relationship and if you are on the same page with your spouse as far as your goals of adoption, etc. They will look into your past and into your relationships with other people....generally your parents and siblings. They will also look at things like the schools and neighborhood where your achild will live. They want to know you will not be a danger and will actually be a positive influence on the child's life.

The entire evaluation is based on the child's needs. The child in question comes up for placement and they choose several families that could potentially meet the needs of that child. Then those families are narrowed down to 3 usually, and a panel is formed to determine which family will best meet the needs of the child in question.

BOTZ

They check your bank records. That's what the agency that adopted ME to my "new, forever" family did. In my case, there's no way I would have ended up where I did if they checked 'emotional stability' -- or my "new, forever" mother was cheated out of an Oscar!

Do I love her? Yes. Is she healthy? No. Never was.

ETA: "Our caseworker...stressed that even if we had a mental illness or a long term physical illness, that doesn't disqualify us from adoption." True, LDS Social Services will place a baby with a metally ill parent. Which explains my adoption. What WILL disqualify you, however, from adopting with them is if BOTH PAP's are not MEMBERS of the LDS church (gotta keep that tithing money rolling in!) And, before you get all high-and-mighty on me, I DO ACTUALLY know what I'm talking about. I was adopted through LDS Social Services (now known as LDS Family Services) and -- as an obvious extension of that -- by LDS parents, in Utah. I was raised in the LDS church. I even served a mission for them. I have lived it from the inside. So, with the entirety of my life, I have earned the right to be angry about adoption and to say, without reservation, that LDS Family (destroying) Services is only interested in the money...and in the furthering of their member rolls by artificial means (adoption) or whatever means necessary. The money they can charge for adoption "services" and the money they will earn from the tithes of life-long members. And, no, Adoption is NOT a beautiful thing.

Melanie

It really does depend on the agency. My husband and I adopted a baby through LDS Family Services, an agency sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They wanted to make sure we were financially stable (not wealthy, because we're not-we can just make ends meet most the time, and qualified for WIC soon after we adopted our baby).

When our caseworker came to our home for the home study, she said she was mostly observing how we interacted and making sure the house wasn't falling apart or obviously dangerous. She said she'd gone to homes where the adoptive parents were freaking out because they didn't get to wax the floor before she came! She wanted to see where the baby's room would be in relationship to our room, just for the file, in case a birth mother asked.

Our caseworker met with each of us to determine why we were choosing adoption, and stressed that even if we had a mental illness or a long term physical illness, that doesn't disqualify us from adoption. They just have to note that in our file, and make that known to birth parents who are looking at our file. For example, I had a clinical depression in my past, and my husband had ulcers.

And yes, our caseworker wanted to know how our marriage was-could it sustain another child (we already had 2), how did we support each other during stressful times, etc. If a birth mother is choosing adoption so her baby has a mother and a father, and then those adoptive parents get divorced, that's not right.

So in my opinion, adoption agencies aren't looking for the perfect couple. They're making sure you're financially able to care for a child, that you and your spouse support each other and are likely to stay together, and that you'd be decent parents.

Good luck! Adoption is such a beautiful thing!

Gershom

They see how much money you make and have, and how much money they can make from you.

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