Adopting a Child With Special Needs
The National Adoption Center states that over 130,000 children with special needs might need adoption. There has been an increase in demand for child adoption over the past few years. However, some guidelines and protocols have to be followed when adopting a child to ensure the children are in safe hands. Children with special needs require special attention and care; hence the adopting parents need to be prepared.
About Special Needs Adoption
A “child with special needs” in Oklahoma refers to a child who has been identified as having a physical, intellectual, or emotional disability that substantially interferes with or limits their ability to function in daily life or activities and who requires special services or treatment to address those limitations. This term can also be used in certain circumstances to describe a child in foster care for a specific length of time.
The determination of whether a child meets the criteria for special needs is made by a qualified professional, such as a physician, psychologist, or social worker, and is based on a comprehensive evaluation of the child’s medical, developmental, and educational needs.
Questions To Consider When Adopting a Child
Before adopting a child with special needs, the adoptive parents need to do a self-assessment to understand what it takes to adopt a child with special needs. Below are some of the prospective questions that adopting parents have to consider.
- What emotional and physical challenges are we likely to face?
- Will the school within our district be able to support the child’s educational needs?
- Are we financially capable of taking care of another person with disabilities?
- What disabilities are we prepared to handle?
- Will our insurance policy cover all the child’s physical and emotional conditions and required therapies?
- Can we get a doctor who will effectively and adequately provide the level of care that the child might need?
- Does our insurance policy effectively cover the necessary health care providers?
- Do we have sources where we can receive adequate training to help us support a child with special needs?
- Will we assist the adopted child in maintaining contact with the relatives?
- What ethnicity, family background, and age range best fit our situation?
Preparations for Adopting a Child
Parents must spend time with children with similar needs when adopting a special needs child. Being in that environment prepares the parents to understand what they will deal with once they adopt a child. It is also advisable to communicate with a family that has previously adopted a child with special needs to bounce ideas on how they support the child.
An Adoption Attorney for Special Needs Adoption
Due to the complexities of the special needs adoption system, parents may find comfort in working with an adoption attorney. Hiring an adoption attorney is a surefire way to guarantee that you are doing everything possible to bring your child home.
Adoption attorneys, or adoption law attorneys, are licensed legal advisors and court officials focusing on adoption law. They work to protect parental rights during the adoption process. They will help you to understand the state and federal law surrounding adoption, meet contractual obligations, process your adoption paperwork, and negotiate terms and conditions.
These are just a few of the roles Lisa R. Howard, an adoption attorney in Oklahoma, will play to facilitate your special needs adoption lawfully. Each case may require a different approach, and it is challenging to determine how long the process will take.
Regardless of your situation, our adoption attorney can help. Lisa R. Howard, P.L.L.C., will guide you in all the critical steps you must go through for special needs adoption. She is a trusted adoption attorney in OKC whose practice is built on integrity, loyalty, and honesty, making her the most reliable adoption lawyer in OKC. For more information about our adoption assistance services, contact us now for a consultation.