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Adoption
 About Adoption
The purpose of adoption is to place children who have been permanently and
legally separated from their birth parents with a new family. It is a social and
legal process which gives new parent(s) the same rights and obligations as
biological parents.
Adoption procedures are governed by Chapter 12 of the Code of
Virginia. There are only two types of adoptive placements that are allowed
by Virginia law. These are agency placements and non-agency placements.
Agency Placements
Agency placements occur when the child is in the custody of a local
department of social services or licensed child-placing agency. In this situation, all parental rights are terminated, custody with authority to place
for adoption is granted to the agency, and the agency consents to the child's
adoption.
Non-agency Adoptions
A non-agency placement occurs when the child is not in the custody of an
agency. In a non-agency placement, the birth parents or legal guardian(s)
consent to the adoption, and parental rights are terminated by entry of the
final order of adoption.
Except for licensed or duly authorized child-placing agencies, only birth
parents and legal guardians are allowed to place a child for adoption in
Virginia. Although anyone may provide assistance to birth parents in locating a
prospective adoptive family and to adoptive parents in locating a child, only
birth parents and legal guardians may actually place the child for adoption.
There are three different types of non-agency adoptions.
- Stepparent adoptions: A stepparent adoption takes place when the spouse of
a birth or adoptive parent is adopting the child. In this situation, consent has been obtained or is not required. An investigation will only take place if the court determines it is nescessary before the adoption is finalized.
If the court does consider an investiation nescessary, the agency becomes involved when the
adoption petition is filed and the circuit court enters the order of
reference.
- Parental Placement Adoptions: These are governed by Code of Virginia sections
63.2-1230 through 63.2-1240. In a parental placement, the approved child
placing agency completes a home study report and a petition is filed in the
juvenile and domestic relations court for execution of consent and awarding of
custody to the prospective adoptive parents. The juvenile and domestic
relations court reviews the home study report and collateral material to
determine whether the requirements of law have been met, accepts parental
consent, and transfers custody to the adoptive parents. An adoption petition
may then be filed in circuit court.
The overall steps in a parental
placement adoption are as follows:(i) the agency receives a request for a home
study; (ii) a home study is completed; (iii) a report of the home study is
submitted to the juvenile and domestic relations district court; (iv) adoptive
parents file a petition for execution of consent in juvenile and domestic
relations district court; (v) court accepts consent and awards custody to the
prospective adoptive parents; (vi) a petition for adoption is filed in the
Circuit Court; (vii) the circuit court enters an interlocutory order of
adoption if everything has been done in compliance with law; and (viii) after
a six-month supervisory period, the circuit court enters a final order of
adoption.
- Adult Adoptions: An adult adoption is the adoption of any person
who is 18 years of age or older at the time that the adoption petition is
filed. Adult adoptions are governed by the provisions in section 63.2-1243 of
the Code of Virginia. In an adult adoption, the agency first becomes
involved when the adoption petition is filed in circuit court.
Other Court Ordered Services
Other court ordered services involve custody investigations or supervised
visitation. "Custody investigation" refers to a court ordered method to gather
information regarding a child whose custody, visitation or support is in
controversy or requires determination. Custody investigations are usually
requested in divorce situations.
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