Consent refers to the agreement by a parent, or a person or agency acting in place of a parent, to relinquish the child for adoption and to release all rights and duties with respect to tha... [more]
Many State legislatures have enacted legislation to address infant abandonment and infanticide in response to a reported increase in the abandonment of infants. Beginning in Texas in 1999, ... [more]
In general, State law does not prohibit postadoption contact or communication. Since adoptive parents have the right to decide who may have contact with their adopted child, they can allow... [more]
In order for an adoption to take place, a person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, and the ... [more]
In the decades since 1960, out-of-wedlock births have increased dramatically. While much research on childbearing trends and the characteristics of unwed mothers exists, very little is know... [more]
Twenty-five states and one territory (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) grant the same recognition and effect to final decrees of adoption when issued pursuant to due process in... [more]
Nearly all States, 1 the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have enacted statutes that provide some regulation of the fees and expenses that adoptive parents are expected to pa... [more]