The adoption process

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

I am a US citizen and want to adopt my four-year-old niece in Jamaica. Both parents gave me the OK to do so. I just wanted to know the process, and whether I need to hire an attorney to do so. The only paperwork that was sent in so far was the initial adoption application.

As you have sent in your Pre-Adoption Information Form, you have to wait until you receive word from either the Adoption Board or Child Development Agency (CDA) that you have been approved as an acceptable applicant and that you should go ahead and submit your application. The CDA does not wish any prospective adopter to go ahead and spend time and money if their proposed adoption of a particular child is a non-starter. This means that the parents’ consent to the adoption is assured.

So once you hear from the CDA that you have been accepted for further processing, you will be sent a package of the application form, the child medical form and the adult (yours) medical form, plus a list of the documents required by the Adoption Board and information you will need to assist you for the proper and timely processing of your application. You would be told whether your application would be dealt with as an adoption locally of a child related to you or as a licence matter where you reside in the United States.

One thing they are very strict about is that all applicants submit all the required forms and documents all together to them at the same time.

If you do not send everything together, what you send in will be kept in a pending file for six months, without a case number or a caseworker assigned. You would be informed which documents are missing and must be submitted. After you have submitted all the required documents within the six-month period, a case number will be assigned, as well as a caseworker. If you do not submit everything and the six-month period expires, your application will be considered to have been abandoned. If you still wish to proceed, you will then have to start afresh.

Since you are assured of the parents’ consent, you could, if you wish, start collecting the necessary documents and when you receive notification of your approval and the package of forms and list of documents, you can do a checklist that you have everything required as per their list and follow the instructions contained in the information sheet(s) they would also have sent to you. In this way you will save yourself some time and so submit everything in good time.

These documents which I am about to mention, I must make clear, are those which are generally required by the office which you can make sure you have at hand, But double-check with the list when the CDA sends that to you.

If your application will be treated as that of a person living abroad who will complete the adoption in Jamaica of a relative, or as a person applying for a licence to adopt a child abroad whom you have identified and know the parents, you must send all the required documents together to the Adoption Board, excluding the Home Study. You then wait for the board to confirm that it has received the written consent of the parents of your niece. Then you contact a social work agency or a licensed social worker where you live and make arrangements for the Home Study to be done. The agency or individual you arrange with must send a letter to the board saying that the arrangement for your Home Study has been made with you. The agency or individual social worker must send the Home Study directly to the board as quickly as possible. You will of course have to meet the costs of this study and the preparation of the report and its submission.

The documents you can start collecting while you await word that you have been accepted for further processing are:

1. An original certified copy of your birth certificate;

2. Two original certified copies of your niece’s birth certificate;

3. Proof of the relationship of aunt/uncle with your niece by also sending an original certified copy of the parent of your niece who is related to you.

You should make arrangements with your employer to get a letter from them stating that you are employed by them, the date of your employment, the position or post you hold, your employment status, the hours you work per week/month and your rate of pay. A recent pay slip or statement should be attached with this letter. If you are self-employed you must send a statement of your occupation and your income, which must be signed before a Notary Public and properly sealed and appointment verified.

You also need to send two letters of reference of persons not related to you but who know you very well and know your home life and lifestyle. They must state how long they have known you and speak about your ability to relate to and care for a child and any other relevant matter. This also must be signed by the referees before a Notary Public.

Since you live in the USA, one of your references must be from a person living in Jamaica.

If you are married and are applying jointly with your spouse, your references must be joint ones for you both and an original certified copy of your marriage certificate must also be sent. If divorced , a certified copy of your decree absolute must be sent. If you are separated without any possibility of a reconciliation, you must send a declaration to this effect signed and dated by you before a Notary Public.

If you are married and you are applying alone, your spouse should send a letter that he/she agrees and supports your application. I suggest this also be done before a Notary Public. A passport-sized photograph of yourself and one of your niece which were taken within six months of the application and has been certified by a Notary Public/Justice of the Peace must also be sent.

If you are single, separated or of an advanced age, you must also get and send a letter of responsibility signed and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace/Notary Public or a person who is an income earner and active, which must state that if you are unable to care for the adopted child that he or she would assume this responsibility. The medical forms must also be completed and properly signed and submitted. A school report, if the child is in school, must also be sent in.

I have already mentioned the Home Study as you reside abroad. If your application is a licence case, and a placement supervision is deemed to be necessary, this will require that you do and submit a written, signed, notarised statement that you agree to the supervision of the placement by a licensed social worker when the child joins you in the USA. The agency or person who prepares the hone study report may also have to submit a written notarised letter undertaking to supervise the placement and send ‘post placement reports’ to the board every six weeks during the first three months of the placement and every three months until the adoption is completed. The person or agency must also send recommendation that the adoption should or can be finalised. You must bear all the costs for these.

You also have to submit, if it’s a licence case, a written signed notarised statement that you will inform the board when the adoption is completed.

You as a US citizen must submit a copy of your approved 1600A petition from the Department of Homeland Security(USCIS). Finally, you must also obtain and submit a current police record with your photograph.

You can of course retain a lawyer here to assist with the submission of your application with all the necessary documents but you really need the services of a lawyer where you live if yours is a licence case, and the cost for the home study and other periodic placement studies will have to be met by you and will add up. So you ought to try and deal with your application and submission of the necessary documents, at the same time yourself, if you can. Remember that you will be sent all the forms you need to fill or have filled with a list of all the documents necessary to support the application, as well as detailed instructions. You will also have the name of your case officer whom you can call when you need assistance.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver. com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.