Every adoption is different and varies by region. Adoption agencies have established a set of qualifications for adoptive single-parents and married couples to help secure the family that will best provide for a child. The criteria are based on various aspects, such as: age, fertility, previous children, financial status, employment, religion, background, and marital status. Although these are all important issues to consider when placing a child with a new family, ones marital status has been the focus of some debate. With the many benefits singles have to offer children in need of a home, any concerns over single-parent adoptions should be laid to rest.

Singles as first choice

Singles are occasionally preferred over two-parent families, both in private and public agency adoptions. Why expectant parents might select a single person as an adoptive parent seems to be based as much on their personal rapport, as on the amount of preparation done to welcome a child. Single-parents approach adoption with the same commitment as married couples and have the longing to provide a nurturing, loving and safe environment for a child. Many women who have focused on careers, putting off marriage and having children until later, now find that they've reached their thirties or forties without a husband, with a yearning for a child. As a result, these single-parents are more financially stable and can afford the additional costs of a child with disabilities.

With a large percentage of the population's children living in broken homes, single-parents can provide the emotional, financial and physical support without the devastation of divorce. A child in the foster care system that has experienced trauma related to one gender or the other, can be best placed with a single- parent family of the non-threatening gender.

Adoption is a wonderful opportunity for a child to have the family he/she so desperately needs. Although the marital issue regarding single-parent adoption will continue to be debated, an unstable or broken home can cause more damage to a child than the lack of an additional parent. The main goal is to consider what’s in the child's best interest and place all other beliefs aside.

The Adoption Process

Like most important decisions, the adoption process takes time and involves a lot of paperwork. But once you have your child in your arms, you’ll probably forget about all the forms you filled out. But until then, here’s a step-by-step guide.

Application form

An application form gives basic information about yourself and the child you want to adopt. There is an application fee that will vary from agency to agency. After the application is processed, you are usually sent an Adoption Handbook or guide which details the adoption process. Shortly thereafter, you are contacted about setting up a homestudy.

Homestudy

No matter what kind of adoption you are considering, you’ll need to have a homestudy performed by a licensed adoption agency. An adoption counselor from a licensed agency in your state will visit your home to discuss your lifestyle, immediate and extended family, finances and reasons for adopting. The evaluation or homestudy process for single-parents is tougher than most and although this process has occasionally been called invasive and intrusive, its importance is never questioned. Its purpose is to help prospective parents clarify their reasons for wanting to adopt, and to explore their capabilities, maturity, and emotional readiness. The guidelines vary from state to state, but the process usually takes four to six weeks. There are several licensed agencies who can provide your adoption agency your homestudy so that you can continue through the completion of your adoption.

Adoption Documents

USCIS clearance —To begin an international adoption, you’ll need to complete forms for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Your agency can send you these or you can obtain them online from the USCIS Web site.

For adoptions from Russia, you will need the first USCIS form completed, I-600A, (Application for Advanced Processing of an Orphan Petition.) This is to get a visa so that your child can legally enter the United States. Later in the process, you’ll need a supplementary form, I-600, which will be required. The normal processing time for an I-600A is 6 to 12 weeks. Some of the items you’ll need to send the to your local USCIS office are as follows:

• A letter of intent.
• Birth certificates.
• Marriage and/or divorce certificates, if applicable.
• A copy of your homestudy.
• FBI fingerprint clearance for each family member 18 and older. The USCIS will make an appointment with you to take your fingerprints.
• Payment of a $670 USCIS processing fee, plus $80 for each person to be fingerprinted.

Dossier—Several foreign countries require adoptive applicants to submit a “dossier" which is a collection of documents required by the government in your child’s country. The requirements will vary, but your dossier may include the following items:

• Birth, marriage and divorce certificates
• Financial and employment statements
• Your medical information
• Local police clearance
• Your homestudy
• USCIS approval
• Photographs
• Copies of your passport

What Happens Next

After you’ve completed all your paperwork and paid your fees, it’s a waiting game. The length of time will vary for each single-parent adoption and each country, and can depend somewhat on the type of child you want (there’s a higher demand for girls, so the wait will be longer).

During this waiting time, your adoption agency will send your homestudy and dossier, if required, to a placing agency in that country. Officials there review your dossier and match you with a child. Once you are matched with a child, depending on the region, and country, you will travel to that country to meet and receive all available information about the child. You will be asked to carefully consider all the information before deciding whether or not to accept this child for adoption.

After you have accepted the child, you will need to return back to that country to attend the adoption court hearing and complete your child’s adoption. The first trip is usually about a week and the second approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Before traveling, you will receive general information about the child... And because this can be an overwhelming process, most reputable adoption agencies will have experienced and caring professionals on hand to guide you through the entire process.

In conclusion, those who choose to adopt as single-parents are made aware of any hurdles they face, and the general preference for two-parent families. Despite these obstacles however, the number of single persons hoping to adopt increases daily, the hurdles faced, and the challenges met. There are too many single-parents out there who are wonderful parents, raising confident and secure children. To stop entrusting children to single adoptive parents, would be an enormous disservice to children - those who thrive in single-parent homes, and those who might in the future.