Single Parent Adoption

As a single adoptive parent you may have a little more of a challenge adopting than a married couple will have. This site provides information for a single person who is interested in a child adoption.

A single woman or a single man often has a harder time in a child adoption than a married couple.  In the decades of the 1960's and 1970's if a single person wanting to adopt had gone to an child adoption agency, they would have been turned down because it just was not done.  Now, thousands of children in the U.S. and in other countries are living with single men and women who have chosen to become adoptive parents.  

The adoption of a child by a single parent has shown a steady increase over the past decade.  It is estimated that approximately 25% of special need adoptions are by a single man or single woman.  This increase is not just with special needs children but is also found with healthy children. It is estimated that about 5-10% of all U.S. child adoptions are by a single man or woman.

It is more difficult for a single parent to take care of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a child than it is for two parents. This fact adds fuel to the view of many adoption and social welfare experts who believe that the best placement for a child is with a family that has a mother and a father.  While the typical "traditional" family structure has certainly changed in the U.S., there is still hesitation on the part of many professionals to accept single parent adoption. This hesitation is reflected in the varying policies of adoption agencies who will have to complete your Home Study and approve you as a single adoptive parent.

Another obstacle in the adoption of a child by a single person, especially single men, is society's concern, and many adoption agencies' concerns, about the appropriateness of gay or lesbian adoption. While being single and being gay or lesbian are not necessarily related, the concern is there for many "experts" and you may find yourself as a single person having to explain or justify your life style as a single.

In an international adoption some countries (like China) will not place with a single parent and many foreign countries (like Russia and Guatemala) will not place with a gay or lesbian.

Getting started as a single parent is no different than for a married couple except that you may have to do a little more research and may have to make several more contacts than a couple might have to make. 

First you need to decide if you want to adopt a child domestically or look into an international adoption. Then you need to decide on the age of the child and if you want a healthy child or are willing to consider a special needs adoption. And then you need to find an adoption agency that can assist you with the Home Study and with an adoptive placement and post-placement services. 

Finding an adoption agency may take a little time since some agencies may not approve single parent adoptions. To learn more about single parent adoption in your state, you may want to contact the state's child welfare agency and state adoption specialist.  You can also find help through single parent adoption support groups.  For a list of child adoption agencies visit the links Adoption Agencies: Domestic and Adoption Agencies: International.

The reasons that single parents adopt, explanations for the increase in these adoptions, and other factors are discussed in the Child Welfare Information Gateway article entitled Single Parent Adoption: What You Need to Know.

A list of parent support groups is available by writing to the Committee For Single Adoptive Parents, P.O. Box 15084, Chevy Chase, MD 20825.

Another resource is the National Adoption Center, 1500 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, (215) 735- 9988 or 1-800-TO-ADOPT.

Our agency, Adoption Services, does not discriminate based on marital status, race, age, cultural background, or for any other reason. We have helped many singles adopt.  Please feel free to contact us and please visit our home page to read about our commitment to assist adoptive parents like you as well as pregnant women and birth parents.