9781422282571

12

Adoptive Families adopted by members of their own families (Clinton by his stepfather, Foxx by his grandparents). But all their stories show that adopted kids have many different kinds of lives and can grow up to be anything they want. TYPES OF ADOPTION Adoption is when a person (usually a child but not always) leaves his or her birth family to join another family. Beyond that very basic definition, there are many dif- ferent types of adoptions that occur. The different types are determined by three factors: who is doing the adopting, who is handling the adoption process, and who is being adopted. • Public. A public adoption is one that is handled by a part of the govern- ment called the child welfare system. Sometimes biological parents willingly give up all legal rights to their child; other times the child is taken away from the parents because of abuse or neglect . In public adoptions, the entire process is guided and paid for by the government. • Private. A private adoption, on the other hand, is handled by an inde- pendent agency. Adoption agencies connect people who want to adopt with children who need parents. In these situations, it’s usually the would- be parents who pay for the adoption. • Family. Sometimes, when parents are not able to look after their kids, other family members will step in to help. This situation is also called kinship care . In some situations, the family member will formally adopt a young relative. But other times, the situation is a bit more loose. A child might simply live with an aunt, uncle, or grandparent, even though the biological parents still have legal custody . • Stepparents. Another type of adoption can occur after a parent marries a new partner. That new partner is called a stepparent , and sometimes he or she becomes a legal parent of the kids. Whether or not this happens usually depends on the relationship that the kids have with their biological parent.