ADOPTION IN SA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

While moms across the country celebrate Mother’s Day, for women who want a child but are unable to conceive, it’s a painful reminder. Could adoption be a solution? Here’s what you need to know...

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There are about three-million orphans in South Africa, according to the Children Count advocacy project of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town. At the same time, there are many adults who are desperate to become parents, but are unable to do so biologically for a range of reasons, and are keen to adopt a child.

Adoption can be a long process that can cause frustration and anxiety, with strict legal and government requirements, but at its heart is looking out for the best interests of the child. Countless adoptive parents who have worked through the process can attest that it’s all worthwhile when they hold their little one in their arms. Only a small number of adoptions are finalised each year – around 2 400, according to Adoption.org. To be among them, here’s what you need to do...

1. REACH OUT FOR ASSISTANCE
Approach an accredited adoption agency, a private adoption social worker, Child Welfare or a Department of Social Development (DSD) social worker. The National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (NACSA), which aims to empower the adoption community and raise awareness about adoptions, can help direct you to a social worker or agency in your province. Each has its own requirements, and it’s advisable to call to establish its criteria before applying in writing.

2. PREPARE FOR THE PROCESS
You will be screened in interviews and home visits, so the social worker can get to know you, your motivation for adopting and your ability to provide a warm, stable, loving home. You also need to have a full medical, and a marriage/relationship assessment if in a relationship. “This includes same-sex married couples under the latest version of the Children’s Act,” says Durban- based lawyer Candice Eve-Friis, a partner at Shepstone at Wylie, who specialises in family law and all aspects of the Children’s Act. You will also need to undergo a psychological evaluation and provide police clearance references, she says.

3. FIND A GOOD MATCH
If you are a suitable candidate, you will be put on the Register of Adoptable Children and Adoptive Parents, while the social worker/agency finds you a child who would be a good match. You can stipulate what age, gender and ethnicity you would prefer.

Birth parents who choose to put up their child for adoption can only sign their consent once the baby is born, and then have 60 days in which they may change their mind. During that time, the child is usually kept in a place of safety to protect both the child and adoptive parents from sadness and loss if the birth parents withdraw from the process.

4. AWAIT THE CALL
You will get ‘the call’: arrangements will be made for you to meet the child, and afterwards, if you’re in agreement, the legal placement process will proceed. The adoption must be approved by the DSD before it’s sent to a magistrate in the Children’s Court, along with the report on you, to review and approve the adoption and grant
an adoption order.

“The court must consider various factors set out in the Children’s Act to determine if the adoption is in the child’s best interests,” says Candice, “including the community, religious and cultural background of the child and its biological parents and the prospective parents.”

5. FOLLOW PROTOCOL
When the child has been with you for a certain period, and the social worker has assessed that the placement is working well, the adoption will be finalised. The court report will be sent to the DSD to check that the right procedure was followed, and record the child’s and your details.

6. MAKE IT OFFICIAL
“Once the adoption order is issued and the adoption is registered, the adoptive parent will acquire full parental rights and responsibilities in respect of the child, and all the rights of the biological parents will be terminated,” says Candice. The final step is for you to go to Home Affairs to get a new birth certificate and ID number for your child, and have their surname officially changed to yours.

By: Glynis Horning
Photo: Gallo/Getty Images