Who Can Adopt a Child?
Advice for single people, married couples, domestic partners, and lesbians and gay men.
As a general rule, any adult who is considered a "fit parent" may adopt a child, but some states have special requirements for adoptive parents. In a few states, adoptive parents must be a certain number of years older than the child. In others, adoptive parents must be state residents for a specified length of time before they are allowed to adopt. If you're adopting through an agency, you may also have to meet additional agency requirements, which are often stricter than state laws.
In addition, some individuals or couples are likely to have more difficulty adopting than others. For instance, a single man or a lesbian couple may have a harder time finding a placement than a married heterosexual couple will, even though technically they should be able to adopt. This happens because all states look to the "best interests of the child" when making a placement determination. Many state courts or agencies will use the "best interests" argument to judge a prospective adoptive parent or couple according to preconceived biases about who makes a good or a fit parent. And sometimes birth parents who are placing their children with an agency for adoption have some of the same biases. Below we discuss the issues or roadblocks some folks are likely to run into.
Different Race or Ethnic Background
You do not need to be the same race as the child you want to adopt, but some states do give preference to prospective adoptive parents of the same race or ethnic background of the child. Adoptions of Native American children are governed by a federal law -- the Indian Child Welfare Act -- that outlines specific rules and procedures that must be followed when adopting a Native American child.
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