Here are some of the questions we get asked most frequently.
Q: What is adoption and is it right for me?
In Ontario, there are several ways to adopt a child and people often explore all three systems: public adoptions, private adoptions and international adoptions.
Q: How much does it cost?
Public adoption through a Children’s Aid Society is a free service. Private and inter-country adoption fees must be covered by the adoptive family.
Q: How long will it take?
The length of time will vary greatly and is hard to predict given that the matching process is the most important part of the process. Timing can be influenced by the current number of applicants, timing of training and willingness to consider children with complex needs.
Q: Why adopt from a Children's Aid Society?
Adoptions in the public system offer the assurance of sound assessments of children and parents, access to extensive training, services and supports through the adoption process, and pre-adoption and post-adoption advocacy for special health and educational services.
Q: What kinds of people adopt?
Bruce Grey Child & Family Servies is committed to finding the best match for every child. We welcome diversity in adoptive parents – including single parents, all ethnicities and religions, same-sex couples, older adults, and those with modest incomes. Children need loving, safe and nurturing families who are committed to helping them grow and develop.
Q: What kinds of children are available for adoption?
Some children are placed at birth by their families for adoption. Some children are already living in foster homes and become legally available for adoption. Some children have medical or emotional challenges that they will need help dealing with. We believe that all children in our temporary care, regardless of age or circumstance, deserve a permanent home.
Q: Are there any financial supports for adoptive families?
In June 2012, the Government of Ontario announced subsidies for families who adopt or become legal custodians to sibling groups, and/or youth over the age of ten years. For more information on the subsidies visit https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2012/06/helping-kids-in-care-find-permanent-homes.html. The Government of Ontario also provides special post-secondary grants for all former Ontario Crown wards, including those who are adopted.
Q: Is there assistance for grandparents adopting grandchildren?
Grandparents, extended family members and community members caring for children in need of protection may now be able to receive financial support from the Government of Ontario Members of aboriginal communities who are looking after a child in a formal customary care arrangement may also be eligible.
Contact 1-866-559-4597 (toll-free) for further information.
Q: What is openness in adoption?
Prior to the adoption, the birth parent(s) may provide input about the kind of family they would like for their child. In some situations the birth parent(s) select an adoptive family. The values, lifestyle, education, religion, cultural heritage and other characteristics which are important to the birth parents are considered carefully when choosing the child’s adoptive family.
We encourage and support openness between adoptive and birth families. The degree of openness a child needs, a birth parent wants, or an adoptive family can accept, is carefully considered early in the adoption process. It could range from a photo and a letter to face-to-face contact between birth families and children.
There are two options available to maintain these relationships. The court has the option of making a contact order with significant people in a child’s life. A child can still be adopted with this order in place. Another option available to ensure a child maintains contact with significant people in his/her life is with a contact agreement between adoptive parents and birth families.