Most people in society want children without parents to have a safe and loving home to grow up in. This can be accomplished by having a broad idea as to who can adopt a child. However, many types of people face challenges in trying to adopt.

Adoption and foster agencies usually choose "traditional families" for adoption. This means a young married couple that share the same skin color as the adopted child. Other people that don't fit this profile will normally have a more difficult time adopting a child. Examples include:

• Older couples
• Single people
• Interracial adoption
• Same-sex couples

Older Couples

People older than 40 may hit some roadblocks when trying to adopt. A court may decide it isn't in a child's best interests for an older couple to adopt him. The older the couple, the more potential health problems they may have in the future.

In most cases, the older the child the more likely an older couple may adopt. An older child is be able to better handle problems in the future from old age. A court looks at all the factors in deciding a child's best interests.

Many older couples look at foreign countries to adopt a child. An adoption in the United States can take as long as seven years. However, an adoption from another country will usually take under three years. Countries will differ as to age requirements for adoption. Russia and Ukraine will usually allow older couples to adopt children. China will allow the adoption of a child over 18 months old even if both people in a couple are over 45 years old.

Some countries base age requirements on the sex of the adopter. In these countries, women must usually be younger than men to allow an adoption. For example, a woman can't be over 38 in Columbia if she wants to adopt. However, her spouse can be over 38.

Single People

Many agencies are very strict when it comes to allowing a single person to adopt. Most believe that a two-parent home is in a child's best interests. However, some would rather have a child in the loving home of a single parent than no home at all.

Many single people look to other countries to adopt. Some countries are less strict when it comes to single parents, and the wait can usually be much shorter. However, even in those countries, there are usually stricter guidelines for single people than for married couples. For example, a single person can only adopt a child of the same sex in Belize and Ecuador.

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Related Resources

- State Adoption Statutes from the Child Welfare Information Gateway
- National Adoption Center
- ACLU - Parenting
- US State Department - Adoption