By Gabi Falanga

There are a number of reasons you may decide to adopt a child, such as fertility challenges, being in a same-sex relationship, or simply wanting to grow your family. 

When you adopt a child, you granted the legal parental rights to the child and they are permanently placed with you. Their biological parents have their parental rights revoked. Once this has happened, the adoptive parents have the same rights and responsibilities towards the child as they would if it were their biological child. 

To adopt a child in South Africa, a legal process needs to be followed. Adoptive parents need to work through either the government’s Child Welfare, or an accredited private adoption agency or social worker. Here the steps you would need to take to adopt: 

• Decide whether you’d like to do the adoption process through a government or private social worker or agency. Approach the agency of your choice and ask to apply. 
• Complete an application form. 
• Once your application has been processed, you will undergo a thorough screening and preparation process which includes orientation meetings, interviews with social workers, full medicals, marriage and psychological assessments, homes visits, police clearance and references. This process can take long, but it’s important that it’s done thoroughly to ensure that you are able to offer a child a stable, loving home and meet their needs. 
• If the agency is satisfied with the information gathered during this process, you will be placed on a register of adoptive parents, or waiting list, while they search for a child who is available for adoption. 
• Once you have been matched to a child, you will be introduced to them. 
• If you agree to adopt the child, the social worker will approach the Children’s Court which will have to issue an adoption order to finalise the adoption and give you the legal, parental rights to the child. 
• You will receive the child’s original birth certificate and the order of adoption. If you want to change your child’s name, you’ll have to apply at Home Affairs using these documents. 

Remember that although government and private adoption agencies are required to follow the same process, the steps and order might differ slightly. 

Here is more useful information if you’re considering adoption: 

• There is a cost to adoption. The government charges on a sliding scale according to your income, while private social workers or agencies set their own rates for their services. These fees and rates have to be presented to the court and as such are transparent and strictly monitored. 
• It’s illegal to arrange a private adoption directly with a birth mother, or to pay her for her child as this is regarded as child trafficking.  
• There are various types of adoption which include:‘Related adoptions’ where one adopts a child who is related you or is your step-child; ‘disclosed adoptions’ where the identities of the biological and adoptive parents are made known to each other – and an agreement may be made to maintain future contact; and finally “closed adoptions’ where the identities of the adoptive and biological parents aren’t shared with one another. 
• The law doesn’t discriminate against same-sex couples, single people, or HIV-positive parents wanting to adopt. Private adoption agencies might however have their own criteria about who they accept as adoption applicants. 
• You won’t be able to choose a specific child to adopt. However, on your application form you’ll be able to indicate certain preferences about the child’s race, age and gender. The social worker responsible for your application will match you with a child they feel is best suited to your family – a decision which is made in the best interests of the child. 

For more information about adoption, visit the National Adoption Coalition of South Africa’s website.