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Hi All,
I'm new to the forum. I've always wanted to have children, and have always thought of intercountry adoption since I was very young.
I am now 25, and I have considered this more seriously now, over the last 12 months or so. I would like to place my registration for adoption before I turn 30. IS there anyone out there who has adopted a child on their own? What were your experiences?
Cheers,
Ella
Hi Ella
welcome to bellybelly!
im not sure you can do single adoptions here in aus!
Dh and i look in to adopting and they said you needed to be Married for 5 years(not defacto) so i took that as single parent adoption wouldnt be possible.
im sure if you rang the adoption board(i cant remember the name of it) they will send out all the info
Good luck
Ella, each state has their own (usually pretty stringent) legal requirements for adoption. From what I'm aware, most states do not allow sole parent adoption. You will need to contact the State Government Department that handles child welfare in your state (DCD, DHS, DOCS etc) and ask what their requirements are.
Best wishes.
Hi Ella
I'm not sure exactly how it works in Australia, but since you are interested in intercountry adoption I thought you might like to know it also depends on the country you are adopting from. Some allow children to be adopted by sole parents, some do not. Australia only has intercountry adoption arrangements with selected countries, so that cuts down your options as well. Some countries require you to stay there for a while and all kinds of other things, so you are limited a bit.
I think you can adopt in Australia as a single parent from overseas or for a child that is a blood relative and can't be cared for by their parent/s.
When I was younger I thought that if I never did meet Mr Right and have a 'nuclear' family then when I was older this is what I would do to, so I looked into it a little. The fuzziest part was how it works at this end, not the overseas country. Like Divvy, I'd look into it with the appropriate dept. In Australia, you need to be approved for adoption to be able to bring the child back into the country, not to adopt it as such.
I looked into it a few years ago. To adopt a child overseas it cost something like $50,000. Not sure what the requirements were, we didn't get that far.
Hi. I am new to BB forum as I read your thread and had to reply.
I am a single from NSW and am currently looking at intercountry adoption. Yes if you are in NSW and Victoria you can currently adopt as a single. Countries such as Ethiopa, India, China and Hong Kong accept single applicants(female). China has restricted the number of single adoptions to 8% of total adoptions from each state. Some states such as QLD currently do not allow singles to adopt, but I understand this may be reviewed in the next 12 months.
As for cost it depends on the program. China being the more expensive program has a total cost of around $25000 -$30000. But these costs are spread out over a number of years. It takes about 5 years for a single to adopt from China, beginning to end. If you pass the rigorous SW interviews, then your file may sit with your local DOCS dept for about 3 years. If you are willing to take special needs children, it is much faster.E.g. cleft lip, developmentally delayed. If you adopt from Ethiopia, a sibling group is also considered special need.
Your one issue is going to be your age. Most people adopting internationally are over 40. The state departments may make an issue of your young age and your reasons to adopt. They do prefer older applicants. However on the other side of the coin, India prefers single women between the ages of 30-35 to adopt. Often state expectations don't match country allowances.
I hope this helps. By the way there is a yahoo group that is designed for single people interesting in adopting and they have a wealth of information if you need it.
Rob
Oops I had better clarify the India statement. India prefers couples,(as do most countries), but IF a single female applies they should be between the ages of 30-35.