Adoption

Adoption is a legal and social process through which a person or persons assume the parenting of a child who is not biologically theirs, permanently transferring all parental rights and responsibilities from the child's biological or legal parents to the adoptive parents. This process creates a permanent parent-child relationship recognized by law, effectively making the adopted child a full member of the adoptive family with the same rights as a biological child.

Key aspects of adoption include:

• Permanent legal change: Adoption is intended to be a lifelong, irrevocable commitment that legally severs the parental rights of the birth parents and establishes those of the adoptive parents.
• Parental responsibility: Adoptive parents assume all rights and obligations of parenting, including care, custody, and inheritance rights.
• Types of adoption: There are various forms, including foster care adoption (adopting children from the foster system), domestic infant adoption, and international adoption. Additionally, adoptions can be open (where birth parents may maintain some contact) or closed (where birth parents relinquish all rights and contact).
• Child's identity: Upon adoption, the child often takes the adoptive parents' surname and receives an adoption certificate, replacing their original birth certificate, symbolizing their new permanent family status.
• Purpose: Adoption provides children who cannot be raised by their birth parents with security, permanency, and a nurturing family environment, supporting their well-being and development.

In summary, adoption is a formal legal process that creates a permanent parent-child relationship between adoptive parents and a child, ensuring the child's welfare and family stability when birth parents are unable to fulfill that role.