A Heart to Love and Care

Are you planning to adopt a child? Is the child to become an addition to your present family or it could be that you are a childless couple and wants to have a child through adoption? Whatever the case may be, as long as you have the heart to love and care as well as financially capable to support the said child, then go for it!

However, it would be good if you adopt the child legally. I’ve known of a couple who went through the process of legally adopting a child. The process was somehow tedious, you have to accomplish all the requirements as mandated by law through the assistance of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). But in the end it paid off for the rights of the adoptive parents as well as the future and rights of the adopted child is secured and protected.

For those who are interested to adopt, below are some information as to the Requirements for Prospective Adoptive Parents and the types of adoption here in our country that I gathered from the DSWD website:

Requirements for Prospective Adoptive Parents:

1. Authenticated birth certificate
2. Marriage Contract or Divorce, Annulment, Declaration of Nullity, or Legal Separation documents;
3. Written consent to the adoption by the legitimate and adopted sons/daughters, and illegitimate sons/daughters if living with the applicant, who are at least ten (10) years old;
4. Physical and medical evaluation by a duly licensed physician and when appropriate, psychological evaluation;
5. NBI/Police Clearance
6. Latest income tax return or any other documents showing financial capability, e.g. Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate or Statement of Assets and Liabilities;
7. Three (3) character references, namely from the local church/minister, the employer, and a non-relative member of the immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at least three (3) years;
8. 3×5 sized pictures of the applicant(s) and his/her immediate family taken within the last three (3) months;
9. Certificate of attendance to pre-adoption fora or seminars.

In addition, foreign nationals shall submit the following:

1. Certification that the applicant(s) have legal capacity to adopt in his/her country and that his/her country has a policy, or is a signatory of an international agreement, which allows a child adopted in the Philippines by its national to enter his/her country and permanently reside therein as his/her legitimate child which may be issued by his/her country’s diplomatic or consular office or central authority n intercountry adoption or any government agency which has jurisdiction over child and family matters; or in the absence of any of the foregoing, the Philippine Intercountry Adoption Board may also certify that the Philippines and the applicants’ country have an existing agreement or arrangement on intercountry adoption whereby a child who has been adopted in the Philippines or has a pre-adoption placement approved by the Board is allowed to enter and remain as permanent resident in the applicant’s country as his/her legitimate child.
2. Certificate of Residence in the Philippines issued by the Bureau of Immigration or Department of Foreign Affairs, as appropriate;
3. Two (2) character references from a non-relatives who knew the applicant(s) in the country of which he/she is a citizen or was a resident prior to residing in the Philippines, except for those who have resided in the Philippines for more than fifteen (15) years;
4. Police Clearance from all places of residence in the past two years immediately prior to residing in the Philippines.

As for the types of adoption in the Philippines, there are three types which are as follows:

1. Agency adoptions are those in which a licensed adoption agency finds and develops adoptive families for children who are voluntarily or involuntarily committed. The adoptive families go through the process from application to finalization of the child’s adoption under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development or a licensed child-placing agency like the Kaisahang Buhay Foundation. Through this type of adoption, the legal rights of the child, the parents who gave birth to the child and the parents who will adopt the child, are all equally protected.
2. Family or relative adoptions are those where the biological parents make a direct placement of the child to a relative or a member of their extended family with whom they relinquish their child.
3. Private or independent adoptions could either be a direct placement to a family known by the child’s biological parents or through the use of an intermediary or a go-between. In an intermediary placement, an individual knows of parents who want to have their child adopted and arranges such placement to a family or someone who wants to adopt. These intermediaries are generally well-meaning and have good intentions. However, one must be wary of “black market” placements which involve an intermediary who brings together a person who has a child and individuals who want to adopt, for the sole purpose of making a profit. This practice does not consider the best interests of the child nor the legal rights of biological parents and adoptive parents.

For more information on adoption process try to get hold of a copy of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8552, The Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 or visit the regional office of the DSWD.

On another note, it is heartwarming to hear stories of families who have opened their homes for abandoned children and going through the process of adoption. Hopefully, the said children will grow with tender affection and eventually learn to be grateful on the improved lives they have. May a grown up adoptive child instill in their hearts this bible verse from Psalm 27:10, “My father and mother may abandon me, but the Lord will take care of me.” Indeed, it is by God’s grace that they found a new family that takes care of them. And for those adoptive parents, may you make St. Joseph as your model, the adoptive father of Jesus who always seek God’s guidance in taking care of his family.

“Parenthood requires love not DNA” – adoption.com