How To Find Adoption Records in Florida? (2024) | Genetics Ancestry

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Adoption in Florida

Adoption in Florida is a legal action process to permanently transfer a biological parent to an adoptive parent. Adoption in Florida is governed by a state law that explains that adoptions can only be made by married couples, Single parents, working mothers, parents who already have children, people living in apartments, as well as people of different religions, races and education levels will be considered.

Adoptions in Florida are also grouped into four types namely; Adopting a child from an orphanage in the United States, Adopting a United States baby, Adopting a child from another country, and Adopting stepchildren (children brought by a new partner, children resulting from infidelity). The adoption process in Florida can be done in three ways, namely through; Public child welfare (social service department), agencies, and through lawyers or known as private adoption.

Adoption Agencies in Florida

Adoption agencies in Florida are divided into two types: government-affiliated agencies and private agencies. Both types of agencies have the same function and purpose of assisting the adoption process that differentiates only in cost, where private adoption agencies usually have more expensive service costs when compared to government-affiliated adoption agencies. Adoption agencies that have been affiliated with the Florida government include; Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Child Walfare Information Gateway, Families Risisng, National Council For Adoption, AdoptUSKids, etc.

The adoption process in Florida will take an average of 3-6 months, this is because adoptive parents must pass the Home Study Requitement and Adoption Preparation and Parenting Class before getting a valid adoption letter.

Home Study Requitment

It is a file check conducted by an adoption agency. The files examined usually include birth certificates, adoption licenses, financial data of adoptive parents, adoptive parents’ background, criminal traces of adoptive parents, and physical examination evidence of adoptive parents and prospective adoptive children. In this process, several home visits will also be carried out by government agencies to ensure the feasibility of residence as one proof of the readiness of adoptive parents. This process will cost less than $500 or even free if done by a government affiliated agency, but private agencies will usually be charged anywhere from $1000 to $5000.

2. Adoption Preparation and Parenting Class

It is a preparatory class for adoptive parents to understand the characteristics, background of prospective foster children, and how to take care of prospective adoptive children. This class is non-mandatory, with only a few adoption agencies providing it.

Cost of an Adoption in Florida

The cost of an adoption in Florida based on a statement from the Department of Children and Families Together with Community Based Care (CBC) partners averages less than $5000 and may be covered by the state (free of charge). This is because the adoption process in Florida does not charge for pre-adoption training in study homes, or placement of prospective foster children in adoptive parents’ homes. So the costs that will be incurred for legal adoption only come from attorney and court fees.

But it is different if the adoption process is carried out with the help of private agencies, the costs that will be incurred will be more expensive. For the adoption of babies as well as the adoption of children from other countries will cost around $30,000 to $60,000, and for the cost of adopting children from orphanages will cost around $0 to $ 5000.

Process Of Adoption In Florida

Adoption in Florida can be done by submitting an adoption petition to the government agency through the court process to obtain an adoption license. The petition will contain several files such as; Birth certificate of the child, A written statement confirming the applicant’s desire and suitability to adopt and the applicant’s ability to provide for the child financially, A written statement from a professional or agency stating the identity and background of the foster child, A statement from the professional containing the legal reasons for the deprivation of the biological parent’s rights to the child to be adopted.

Adoption Reunion Registry (FARR)

Adoption records in Florida can be obtained through Florida’s Adoption Reunion Registry (FARR). Florida’s Adoption Reunion Registry (FARR) is an organization established by the Florida legislature in 1982 for the purpose of providing non-identifying information (i.e. information relating to trial records) about biological families and facilitating possible meetings between biological families and adopted children. Florida’s Adoption Reunion Registry (FARR) does not charge any fees and can be accessed through its website or through its offices. Participants who can access Florida’s Adoption Reunion Registry (FARR) are; adoptive parents, adopted children with a minimum age of 18 years, siblings, biological aunts and uncles, biological grandparents, and adoptive parents on behalf of adopted children.

Non-identifying information such as medical records, and social records of the biological family, can be obtained through adoption agencies or lawyers who assist in the adoption process. The process of releasing this information will incur a service fee determined by the agency or attorney, but if the adoption process is facilitated by the state of Florida, this information will be obtained free of charge by writing a letter requesting the release of non-identifying information to the Florida Post Adoption Services Unit.

In addition to the adoption process through agencies, Florida also has a private option system. Private adoption is an adoption process that is carried out without going through an agency intermediary but still uses a lawyer to take care of all the processes. This adoption system also has a cheaper cost ranging from $ 5000 to $ 10,000 for legal and court fees. The process required for adoption using this system is usually around 6 to 12 months.

Process of Applying for Private Adoption in Florida

The process of applying for private adoption is the same as applying for adoption using an agency, except that all the process is taken care of by lawyers. The process of applying for private adoption is; Conduct an adoption agreement with biological parents, File an adoption petition through the court to be conducted by a lawyer, Pass a home study requitement, and Get an official adoption permit from the government.