Laws Regarding Adopting Children

Understanding the laws that surround adopting children before starting the adoption process can save adopting families a lot of heartache and money.

Health insurance company information given to adopting families about the heath insurance coverage regarding an adoption is often inconsistent, confusing, and at times incorrect.  This information about the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 can be critical to assure coverage.

FMLA requires that an employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for several reasons, one being the placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption established a set of internationally agreed minimum requirements and procedures to govern intercountry adoptions.

This Act amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to confer United States citizenship automatically and retroactively to certain foreign-born children adopted by citizens of the United States.  Persons involved in international adoption should be aware of this Act.

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 covered a variety of areas impacting on children in foster care, children to be adopted, and special needs children. 

The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994  goals were to decrease the time children in foster care were waiting to be adopted, to prevent any discrimination when making foster care and adoptive placements, and to facilitate the recruitment of foster and adoptive families especially for children from foster care.