Adoption by Unrelated Parties

Where the prospective adoptive parents are not connected to the child by either biology, marriage or the foster care system, they must submit to special scrutiny intended to protect the child.

• The first is an investigation of their lives by social workers. This investigation is called a “home study.”
• The second is a probationary period during which the court can remove the child under certain circumstances.

Home Study

The home study is an investigation of the prospective adoptive parents and their home.  The home study report should address:

1. the financial circumstances of the parties seeking to adopt,
2. whether they are “morally suitable, in satisfactory physical and mental health and a proper person to care for and to train the child,”
3. why the parents are giving the child up for adoption,
4. whether the child is a “suitable child” for the parties,
5. what fees have been paid, and
6. the report is also supposed to include the mental and physical health history of the biological parents.

Probationary Period

After the court has received the report, it enters a provisional approval of the adoption. The legal term is an “interlocutory order.” The interlocutory order makes the parties the child’s adoptive parents but the court retains the power to reverse its decision during a probationary period that lasts six months. During that period, the adoptive parents are subjected to additional scrutiny by social workers during a minimum of three post placement visit Virginia Code § 63.2-1212.

After the probationary period has run and the visits have been completed, the court enters a final order of adoption. Virginia Code § 63.2-1213