What is adoption?

Adoption is a legal and social process that provides a family for a child, and a life long event for everyone involved. The child is placed into a new family, who parent, love and care for that child.

In the past, adoption was seen as a way to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. These days, adoption is for children who, for whatever reason, have parents who decide not to raise them. Adoption arrangements are made focusing on the child’s best interests. This means that a priority is given to the family that best suits the child.

What is an Adoption Order?

An Adoption Order made in a court of law establishes a legally recognised relationship between the child and the adoptive parents. Adoption protects the rights of the child, the adoptive parents and the birth parents.

In South Australia, Adoption Orders are granted in the Youth Court.

Before the Youth Court of South Australia makes an Adoption Order, it must be satisfied that adoption is in the best interest of the child.  We assist parents to carefully consider their decision before placing their child for adoption.

What does relinquishment mean?

This occurs when parents legally give up their parental rights and responsibilities to their child, by giving their informed written consent to the child's adoption.

Who decides to place a child for adoption?

The decision to place a child for adoption can only be made by the child's birth parents. If a mother considering adoption comes alone, she will be asked to identify the father, and we will try to find him. If a father is not registered on the child's birth certificate, a person who claims to be the child's father must be given an opportunity to establish his paternity and be involved in any decision making. If a father wishes to raise his child, he has the right to do so.

The parents may consent to adoption after counselling and careful consideration of available options and information.

Who chooses the adoptive parents?

Birth parents are encouraged to be involved in deciding the kind of family that their child will grow up in. Any specific requests that the birth parents make about the adoptive family will be taken into account when deciding on the child's adoptive family. We will also consider the specific needs of the child and aim to find a family who can best care for the child. To do this, we need a wide range of prospective adoptive parents. This includes people who may already have children as well as childless couples.

What help is available when making a decision about adoption?

The decision to place a child for adoption is an extremely difficult one and might be made for a variety of reasons. We provide counselling to people as they work through the future options for themselves and their child. Information about other counselling and support services is also available.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

The Aboriginal community generally believes the legal process of adoption does not fit with Aboriginal culture and this has been recognised in the Adoption Act 1988. This is because Aboriginal people believe that their links to their family and culture are important and that these links for a child should be preserved. We will consult with appropriate people from the Aboriginal community about situations involving Aboriginal children, and will discuss this with you if you are an Aboriginal person.

Changes to adoption over recent years

The number of children placed for adoption has decreased since the 1970s for several reasons, including:

• Greater income support for single parents, and more resources in the community to help families (single and two parent) to stay together.
• Different kinds of families, including single parent families, are now more accepted in our community.
• A stronger emphasis is now placed on keeping children within their own biological or extended family.
• Different forms of contraception are more available and abortion is a choice for some people whose pregnancy is unplanned and unwanted.
• The number of people who wish to be adoptive parents outweighs the number of children who require adoption.