What is Fostering?

The process of fostering another individual exists within the realm of Family Law; Fostering is defined as the procedure undertaken with regard to the granting of temporary supervision over an individual by an individual or entity who is not legally classified as maintaining guardianship or familial ties to the fostered individual.

Fostering vs. Adopting

In contrast with adoption, Fostering shares in in neither the permanence nor the assumed responsibility attributed within the adoption process. While the process of adopting a child is considered to be an immediate contingency plan with regard to children who have been abandoned or removed from their respective birth parents, Fostering a child is not typically considered to share in the urgency or contingency latent within adoption; governmental bodies responsible for the Fostering of children will typically consider the implementation of the Fostering process only after the prospect of familial reunification has been deemed not to be in the best interest of that individual:

Fostering a Child

Though rarely uniform, relative family members such as cousins and grandparents may be sought out with regard to the supervision of a child prior to the potential fostering of a particular child.

In certain cases, funding disbursed by the jurisdictional governing body responsible for the oversight of the Fostering of children will be granted to eligible foster parents.

Individuals fostering a child are considered to assume guardianship no paternity of the fostered individual.

Fostering a child occurs on a temporary basis; only subsequent to individual, judicial review of a particular familial setting or circumstance will a decision be rendered with regard to the permanency of a situation in which a child is fostered.

Adopting a Child

In contrast to the Fostering of a child, the adoption of a child allows the individual or individuals undertaking the adoption of the child in question to maintain legal guardianship in tandem with legal responsibility with regard to the adoptee.

Unlike Fostering as child, the adoption of a child is considered to be a permanent measure; the obligation undertaken by an adoptive parent – or adoptive parents – is considered to exist in the long-term.

In lieu of funding disbursed to individuals undertaking the Fostering of individuals, adoptive parents are typically ineligible to receive funding with regard to the costs of adoption, in addition to funding with regard to the cost of living implicit within an adoption.

Unless otherwise expressed, adoptive parents maintain established paternity with regard to adoptees; as a result, they are traditionally permitted to permit or prohibit visitation with birth parents – conversely, individuals Fostering other individuals are unable to assume the imposition of such measures regulating any such visitation.

The Legality of Fostering an Individual

Contact an adoption lawyer for legal advice and assistance.

Despite their latent differences, the screening process with regard to Fostering a child consists of similar guidelines, eligibility, qualifications, and standards as does the screening process required by prospective parents; typically, individuals interested in Fostering children will be required to:

Undergo thorough background checks, including the review of financial and criminal records.

Complete informational programs and instructional classes provided by the United States government

Adhere to a schedule in which inspections and interviews conducted by government employees may take place

What is an Open Adoption?

An open adoption is a type of adoption in which the biological parents (particularly the natural mother) know, through contact, the adoptive family. Although contact is maintained with the natural birth parents, the parenting rights of the biological parents in an open adoption are terminated and the adoptive parents assume the legal rights of the child.

In an open adoption, the adoptive and birth parents may agree on various arrangements of contact between the youth and birth parents, through there are no guarantees that the adoptive party will permit this.

An open adoption is not legally binding; as a result, nearly 80% of all open adoptions assume a closed status within 3 months of the adoption assuming finalization in court. Similar to the majority of adoption procedures, the regulations and statutes which govern an open adoption will vary based on state and jurisdiction. That being said, in some jurisdictions, the birth and adoptive parents will enter into a binding agreement that will elucidate upon the exchange of information, visitation, or all interactions regarding the child.

As of February of 2009, 24 states in America maintained provisions for such agreements to be legally enforceable through the delivery of contracts, which will act as the finalization of the adoption. The majority of open adoptions are established as informal agreements, which will change over time as each set of parents’ lives progress and evolve. As a legal guardian, the adoptive parents are responsible for implementing such contractual arrangements in accordance with the child’s best interests. Through this characteristic, the adoptive parents in an open adoption maintain the final decision-making authority.

A semi-open adoption, which is another form of adoption, the biological parents may contact the adoptive parents one or several times and then cease contact after an agreed-upon time. Non-identifying information, such as letters and pictures, may also be exchanged in this procedure directly or through a third party, particularly an adoption agency.

The History of Open Adoptions:

Originally closed adoptions were the dominant form of adoption in the United States; closed adoptions protected the biological parents and adoptive parents from the negative impact of social stigmas that surrounded adoption. By the mid-1980s, the taboos surrounding adoption decreased and benefits of open adoptions became more desirable and better understood.

Access to Birth Records in an Open Adoption:

In nearly every state in America, adoption records are withheld from public inspection after the adoption has been affirmed. That being said, all states will allow the adoptive parents to access non-identifying information of the adoptee if he or she is still a minor. Nearly every state in the country, allows the adopted child, when he or she reaches adulthood, access to non-identifying information concerning their birth relatives.