Greg Sutphin

Characteristics of Adopted Children and Stepchildren

Census Statistics Show Characteristics of Adopted Children and Stepchildren

Approximately 4.5 million children in the United States live either as adopted children or as stepchildren. In the latest U.S. Census report, considerable information was gathered about those children.

There does not appear to be an appreciable difference geographically regarding the adoption of children. The percentage ranged from 2.2 to 2.5 percent of children across the various regions. The states with the lowest percentages of adoptees were California, New York, New Jersey and Texas, and Alaska led the country in number of adoptees, though officials attribute that to the prevalence of informal adoptions among Native Americans.

One of the more telling statistics of the Census study relates to the gender of adopted children, stepchildren and biological children. For the period from 2009-2011, for every single age group, the number of girls adopted significantly exceeded the number of boys. Among infants, there were 10 girls adopted for every nine boys. Among three year olds, there were less than eight boys adopted for every 10 girls. Even among 16 year olds, where the numbers were the closest. There were 100 girls for every 95 or so boys.

The numbers were almost exactly the opposite with respect to stepchildren and biological children. Among one-year-old boys, there were nearly 125 boys taken in as stepchildren to every 100 girls. Only four ages—6,7,8 and 16—had more girls being taken in as stepchildren. And at every age, there were more biological girls in the home than boys.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

At the law office of Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC, our lawyers bring more than 25 years of experience to every matter we handle. Attorney Donald C. Cofsky has personally handled more than 1,500 adoption proceedings since joining the bar in 1974. Attorney Bruce D. Zeidman has protected the interests of clients in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1984. We understand the challenges you face, and can help you identify all your options so that you can make good decisions that are in your best long-term interests.

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

Federal Laws Related to Adoption

Federal Laws Governing Adoptions—The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

Though most laws governing child welfare are enacted by the state, there are federal laws and regulations that affect adoption. One of the most important is the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (the “ICPC”).

An Overview of the ICPC

The ICPC was enacted to address situations where the birthparents live in one state and the adoptive parents live in another state. It does not apply when all parties reside in the same state.

Under the ICPC, every state is required to have a state-operated agency that reviews and approves interstate adoptions. When a child born in one state will go to live with a family in another state, the ICPC offices in both states must review the proposed placement and approve the adoption before the child can leave his or her home state. Agencies contemplating interstate placements must meet specific guidelines, set forth in Regulation 12, including:

The submission of all relevant information about the child, the birthparents or guardians, the agency to who the child will be delivered; and a statement of the reasons why the child will be place in the new home
The assumption of legal responsibility during placement
The assumption of financial responsibility, unless the birthparents and adoptive parents have signed a binding contract governing financial responsibility

In addition, the sending agency (the agency in the home state of the child) must obtain relinquishment of parental rights, and must provide the receiving state ICPC office with:

A copy of the court order granting the sending agency the authority to place the child
A current case history of the child
Verification of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act
A copy of the most recent home study for the adoptive family

Before the child may travel to the adoptive parents’ state, the ICPC office in that state must provide the sending agency written notice that placement does not appear to be contrary to the perceived best interests of the child.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

The Adoption Process—An Overview

The Steps to a Successful Adoption

If you’re seriously thinking about adopting a child, here are some of the things you’ll want or need to do to improve your chances of a successful adoption:

Learn as much as you can about the adoption process: You’ll have lots of options—domestic vs. international adoption, open vs. closed adoption, special needs adoptions. Check out adoption agency websites, look for books and magazines—you may even want to participate in an adoption support group.
Select an agency: You can adopt without an agency, but the process can be complex and an agency will be able to help you move more smoothly toward your goal. It’s best to look at more than one potential agency. Ask about fees, how long the process will take, if the agency specializes in certain types of children.
Complete a home study: An agency will require a home study, an assessment of your fitness to be a parent. The agency will visit your home, gather income information, and obtain background checks.
Locate a child—Your agency will typically handle this, although you can customarily be involved in the search. Adoption agencies typically work with both adoptive parents and birth parents, so they usually have a network to help locate a child.
Finalize your adoption—In a domestic adoption, your child customarily comes into your home before the adoption is finalized. You then file an intent to adopt, which is approved by the court. In most international adoptions, you must formally complete the adoption before the child can leave his or her home country.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

Breaking Adoption Stereotypes

Overcoming the “Perfect Family” Myth in Adoption

Many prospective adoptive parents have an inordinate fear of the process, worried that they won’t be perceived by birth parents or agency workers as suitable parents. The reality, however, is that there is no such thing as the “perfect family” or the “perfect parent.”

The most prevalent misconception is that adoption agencies seek to place children in a very specific type of family. In adoption proceedings today, however, most agencies try to place a child in a situation where they will have the best opportunity to thrive and become a well-adjusted member of society. As a result, most agencies don’t discriminate based solely on:

Marital status—It is becoming more and more common for single parents to adopt, provided they can demonstrate that they’ll be able to meet the needs of the child.
Sexual orientation—Many adoption agencies place children with gay and lesbian parents, either as couples or single parents.
Disability—The Americans With Disabilities Act offers protections to prospective parents with physical challenges.
Race—Adoption agencies are not averse to placing children with parents of a different race or ethnicity.
Gender—Most adoption agencies will equally consider men with women as adoptive parents
Age—Though most adoptive parents are between the ages of 25 and 50, many agencies will go outside of those informal limits, often depending on the age of the child.
Size of family—Having children, or even a large family, won’t necessarily disqualify you from eligibility to adopt.

The other false belief is that adoption is only for wealthy individuals. There is no requirement that you own your house, or that you have a specific income level. There’s no requirement that only one parent work outside the home. An adoption agency won’t require you to prove that you have the money to pay for the adoption before you initiate the process. There are tax incentives, grants, and other types of financial assistance available.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

Parenting an Adopted Child

So you’re thinking of adopting a child, or you are already in the midst of the adoption process. You may wonder whether parenting an adopted child differs significantly from parenting a biological child. The answer, according to most experts—in most ways, it doesn’t, but there are some unique issues you will need to watch out for and to which you’ll want to appropriately respond.

An adopted child has all of the same needs as a biological child—the need to love and be loved, to feel a basic sense of security, to learn limits and structure, to develop self-esteem and a sense of responsibility. So in many ways, parenting an adopted child is really just parenting a child, one who happens to be adopted.

At some point, though, you will need to tell your child about the adoption. How and when you do that can have a significant impact on your child’s emotional health. Experts recommend that you start talking to your child about adoption from the time he or she can walk and talk. They won’t really understand what adoption means, but they’ll be familiar with the word, so that it will be easier to go into more detail as they grow older. Telling the story on a regular basis is considered healthy for the child, as it facilitates acceptance. When you tell your child about the adoption, you don’t accomplish any positive objective by demeaning or speaking negatively about the birth parent.

It’s also important to understand that, even if you haven’t told your child that he or she is adopted, or you don’t talk about it on a regular basis, your child actually experienced loss, even if he or she was an infant when the adoption took place.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

International Adoptions—Special Requirements

The Unique Steps Involved in International Adoptions

If you are thinking about adoption, one of your options is to adopt a child from a foreign country. Though similar in some respects to a domestic adoption, there are some requirements that are unique to the international adoption process. As in a domestic adoption, you’ll need to complete a home study. Once your home study is done and you have selected the country where you want to adopt, you’ll need to put together all documents required by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The I-600a and I-800-a Applications

The first step is the completion and submission of your “Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (Form I-600a).” You will also need to complete form I-800a, the Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. Once submitted, USCIS will begin the process of determining your suitability as a parent and whether you can provide a proper home environment for an immigrant child. As a part of the process, you will need to be fingerprinted. You will also need to obtain or bring current a passport to allow you to go to your child’s country.

Once USCIS has processed and approved your Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, you will receive your I-171/I797H letter, which allows your adopted child to enter the United States. USCIS will also advise you that they have notified the U.S. embassy in your country of adoption.

Once you have received and accepted your referral (information about a specific child that you can adopt), you must complete form I-600 or I-800, the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. You must also complete form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, indicating that you will provide financial support to the child.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

Domestic Adoption—An Overview

Domestic Adoption

If you are considering an adoption, you may be overwhelmed with the choices and options. This blog post provides an overview of the domestic adoption process.

A domestic adoption essentially means that you have chosen to adopt within the states and territories that make up the United States, so you won’t have to worry about immigration matters or foreign adoption laws.

A domestic adoption can take a number of forms:

Agency vs. private (independent) adoption—Though many people use adoption agencies, it is not a legal requirement. You can work directly with birth parents, or use an attorney to facilitate the adoption. Agencies typically have networks that can make the process of finding a child easier, but there are also significant expenses associated with an agency adoption. Currently, five states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and North Dakota) do not allow independent adoptions, but offer agency adoptions that are very similar to private adoptions.
Open vs. closed adoption—In an open adoption, the birth parent(s) and the adoptive parent(s) meet and can remain in contact, even after the adoption is done. Arrangement may even be made for visitation with a birth parent. In a closed adoption, the agency (or an attorney or other representative) acts as an intermediary between the birth parent and the adoptive parents, so that there is complete anonymity and privacy
Infant adoption—Many adoptive parents want an infant and it’s fairly typical that adoptive parents will be paired with a pregnant woman, and will take the child home from the hospital.

The Domestic Adoption Process

The adoption process is essentially the same, whether you use an agency or go through a private adoption. You will still need to have a home study done, and the home study will require a background check. As a practical matter, completing the home study should be the first step you take.

Once you’ve completed the home study, you need to find a child. An agency will work through its contacts and network to find a suitable match. You can, however, take your own steps to find a child, advertising in periodicals, online or other places.

Once you have a prospective child, there is legal documentation to complete. If you are adopting an infant, you will need to negotiate what you will pay for and put it in writing. Once your child is with you, you will also have to file papers with the court, and will need to get court approval of the adoption.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.

Embryo Donation

Embryo Donation—A New Form of Adoption

For many who want to adopt, the desire is that the child feel like he or she really belongs to the family. With the advances of modern technology, a new process—embryo adoption—has evolved, allowing a woman to carry and give birth to an embryo donated by another person.

In the embryo donation process, couples who have participated in in vitro fertilization donate a remaining embryo to a third party female. The embryo is then placed in the uterus of the recipient, and the recipient carries the child to birth. Embryo donation is typically anonymous and without compensation. The child born is considered to be the legal offspring of the woman who gave birth.

According to industry spokespersons, extra embryos are a common occurrence in in vitro fertilizations. Donors are typically faced with options—keep their embryos (frozen) and pay a storage fee, give them to research, allow them to be disposed of, or, as more people are choosing, make them available to other prospective parents.

As part of the process, most agencies involved in embryo adoptions allow donors to make genetic information available to prospective donees. After physical and psychological testing, embryos are exchanged and the recipients pay for any medical costs. Some agencies allow the donors to select or reject recipients. Home studies are typically required.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 845-2555 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (215) 563-2150.

More Children in Foster Care—Trend Reverses

Report Shows Reversal of Foster Care Trend

In a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), researchers reported a slight increase in the number of children in foster care across the United States. The study indicated just over 400,000 kids in foster care, down from the peak of 524,000 in 2005, but up about 5,000 over 2012. Until this year, though, there had been a steady decline year after year in the number of children in foster care.

According to researchers, the principal reason for the drop—a shift in the policies of state and county welfare agencies. Many agencies have aggressively shortened foster care stays over the last 10 years, and have also promoted expedited adoptions of children in foster care. Others expanded their programs for families in trouble, eliminating the need to remove children and place them in foster care.

HHS officials are not troubled by the increase in fostered children, seeing it as mostly insignificant in light of the long-term drop in numbers. They attribute the increase mostly to a reduction in the number of adoptions from foster care. In 2012, more than 52,000 children were adopted out of foster care. In 2013, that number dropped by nearly 1,500. A recent law enacted by Congress, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, carries provisions that should reverse the trend in adoptions out of foster care. The bill offers incentives to states to facilitate these types of adoptions.

Adoption Attorneys in New Jersey

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005. We also provide a free initial consultation in personal injury and workers’ compensation matters.

Adoption Incentives Bill Enacted by Congress

President Signs Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act

On September 29, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, a statute that limits long-term foster care, provides measures for monitoring failed adoptions, and offers restructured adoption incentives.

Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, Congress created what is alternatively known as OPPLA (Other Planned Permanent Living Arrangements) or APPLA (Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement). Under this process, child welfare agencies maintain care and custody of a child in foster care who is not expected to be adopted before adulthood. OPPLA or APPLA was only supposed to be a last resort, but studies showed as many as 10 percent of foster children were targeted for OPPLA or APPLA.

Under the new law, APPLA will only be available to children over the age of 15. In addition, case workers will be required to show they have made “unsuccessful efforts” to find another permanent living situation.

The new law mandates that states track finalized adoptions, and that they report to HHS any disruptions to adoptions or guardianships. The law also requires that states spend at least 30% of the funds they receive through HHS on post-adoption and post-guardianship services.

The new law also restructures the payments that states receive for foster care and adoptions. States can receive from $4,000 to $10,000 per child, based on the outcome:

$4,000 for guardianship placements
$5,000 for adoptions of children under the age of nine
$7,500 for guardianship or adoption placements of children between nine and 14
$10,000 for guardianship and adoption placements of children over the age of 14

Contact Us

Offices

Main Office

Phone: (856) 429-5005

Woodbury, NJ Office

Phone: (856) 845-2555

Philadelphia, PA Office

Phone: (215) 563-2150