How are waiting children matched with approved families?
All children placed for adoption by the Department of Family and Community Services must be placed with an approved adoptive family.
Once a child has been identified as needing an adoptive placement, a consultation between the child/rens Child-in-Care Social Worker and the Adoption Social Worker is held where the child/rens Child-in-Care Social Worker must identify the needs of the child, including:
The child/rens Social Worker prepares the child’s profile, gathers pictures of the child and give the child’s dossier to the Adoption Social Worker to assist in the process of finding an adoptive home for the child.
The Adoption Social Worker will identify any possible adoptive applicants that may be a possible match, obtain the adoption assessments of those possible matches and share them with the child/rens Social Worker.
If a potential match is found, the Social Workers will meet to discuss and decide on the suitability of the proposed match.
If they decides that the proposed match is suitable, the Adoption Social Worker makes contact with the prospective adoptive family in order to share information on the proposed child.
If the prospective adoptive family is interested in learning more about the proposed child, a meeting is scheduled with the appropriate member of the team to share further confidential information.
Prospective adoptive families will be given a minimum 24 hours to consider the information that they have been presented with.
After careful consideration, the adoptive family is to inform the Adoption Social Worker of their decision. If the family accepts the child the Adoption Social Worker works with the prospective adoptive family to prepare them for their initial meeting with the child and eventual placement.
Should a family decide not to move forward with the placement, the Adoption Social Worker will retrieve any documents given to the family pertaining to the child and continue to search for a prospective adoptive home.
It's important to note that this does not affect the family's status as an approved adoptive family.
Can I specify what type of child I am looking to adopt?
Yes, during the Home Assessment process you will have the opportunity to explore what type of child would be the 'best match' for you and your family.
P.R.I.D.E stands for Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education.
The PRIDE helps prepare prospective foster and adoptive parents with important information on how trauma impacts a child’s growth and development. The program also helps families know what will be expected of them as foster and adoptive parents.
PRIDE is a competency-based model and is based on the belief that resource families need to have special strengths, knowledge, and skills, as well as a community of supports in order to be successful as foster care or adoptive families. The PRIDE curriculum is based on five competencies that promote the need to not only understand how to best help children who have been abused and neglected but to also strengthen all families (birth, foster, or adoptive).
The five PRIDE competencies include the following set of skills.
Each session is led by co-leaders, one an adoption professional and the other an experienced adoptive or foster parent. They will address the learning needs of all group participants regardless of their specific adoption plans, as they explore their options.
The training consists of nine sessions that are three hours each : Overview of Training Sessions
What is the SAFE Home Assessment?
An important step in getting approved as an adoptive family is the completion of the SAFE Home Assessment.
No matter what type of adoption you pursue, you won’t be able to get it approved until you’ve completed this assessment, sometimes referred to as a home study.
The Structured Analysis Family Evaluation ( SAFE ) is a home study methodology that provides a suite of comprehensive home study tools and practices for the description and evaluation of would-be adoptive and foster families.
A homestudy is a series of meetings with a social worker to provide more in-depth information about adoption and help prepare an applicant for parenting an adopted child. is an assessment of your skills as a potential adoptive parent. It’s also an educational tool, designed to prepare you for some of the responsibilities that lie ahead.
Agencies also require certain documents: a marriage license, birth certificate, medical report, criminal check and child abuse clearance. Personal character references are often required. The homestudy includes at least one visit to your home by an agency worker. The time it takes to complete the homestudy will vary from one agency to another, but families who are interested in children with special needs are usually given prompt attention.
A homestudy is a mandatory process by which an adoption social worker assesses a family or individual who is considering adoption. The process involves a series of interviews and helps prepare the family to meet the needs of an adopted child or sibling set.
An adoption Social Worker will work with you over a number of weeks to complete your SAFE Home assessment.
The link below describes the SAFE Assessment and provides examples of forms you may be asked to complete.
What is adoption openness? / How does it work?
What is adoption openness?
Open adoption is any situation where the birth mother and the adoptive family exchange identifying information about each other. How much is determined by the two parties, and can include everything from swapping social and legal histories to letters and photos, and in some cases, even visits. It is the opposite of closed adoption, which until recently was the adoption standard.
Adoption openness is written, verbal, or face-to-face communication or contact between a child and their birth parents. Adoption openness is usually agreed upon by both the birth parents and the adoptive parents.
This is an adoption where contact is maintained between the adoptive parents, the child and the child's birth parents or other significant relationship. It has to be determined whether this approach is in the best interest of the child and what is acceptable to the birth and adoptive parents.
How does openness in adoption work?
Sometimes it may be in the best interests of an adoptive child to keep in touch with his or her birth parent or other persons that are important to the child. This type of contact is called "openness".
There is a broad range of openness in adoption. Openness can be exchanging cards for holidays, letters, and photographs - directly or through the province - to visits with birth family members. This type of openness might be maintained with a child's birth parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters or aunts and uncles.
The degree of openness is explored by the province early in the adoption process, before the child is placed with the family.
An openness order is made by a court to help maintain a relationship between the child and a birth family member or another person with a significant relationship to the child.
Can I adopt a child that will have no contact with his or her birth family?
Sometimes it’s possible for various reasons (geography, the birth family are not healthy or have passed away), but maintaining a connection between the child and their birth family has been shown to be extremely beneficial to the child.
Support and training for familiesAre there support groups for parents who adopt? How can I connect with other adoptive parents?
Parent support groups provide the opportunity to network, share, and learn from other adoptive parents who are experiencing or have experienced the same things as you. Our New Brunswick Adoption Support Network offers programming across the province including Support Groups, Workshops and Social Events.
Are adoptive Parents eligible for Parental Leave?
Through EI, adoptive parents are covered under the "parental leave" benefit (not maternity leave).
See the Government of Canada site for additional details :
Maternity and Parental Benefits - Canada.ca
Is There Financial Assistance for Adoptive Families?
The Adoption Expense Tax Credit
To help families with the cost of adopting a child, the Canada Revenue Agency allows you to claim up to $15,000 in eligible adoption expenses on your income tax and benefit return for each child under age 18 that you adopt.
You need to make a claim in the tax year when the adoption order is issued or when the child starts living with you, whichever is later. The credit recognizes the unique costs of adopting a child and may be claimed in the taxation year in which an adoption is finalized.
The credit applies to eligible adoption expenses, to qualify for this tax credit, the expenses you paid must fall into one of the following categories:
*These fees can include any of the following and can vary:
Note: You can’t claim any expenses that you paid after the end of the adoption period nor for which you received a reimbursement or financial assistance.
To find out more about the adoption expense tax credit, visit Line 31300 - Adoption expenses - Canada.ca
NB Adoption Grant
The province of New Brunswick is committed to helping more New Brunswick residents become parents. Adopting a child is one way in which families can grow in New Brunswick. In order to support those who have chosen to adopt, the New Brunswick government is offering an adoption grant that provides qualifying adoptive parents with a one-time grant of $1,000 to offset the costs associated with adopting a child.
See the Government of New Brunswick site for additional details : New Brunswick Adoption Grant - GNB.ca
Employer benefits
A growing number of companies and government agencies are offering adoption benefits, which can include a financial reimbursement for legal expenses, agency fees, medical expenses, post adoption counseling, and other expenses, as well as paid or unpaid leave time and help finding resources and referrals. Check with your employer to find out your company's policies.
Benefits that grow with your family
The tax savings and benefits continue while you adjust to adoptive parenthood and settle into your new life. These include the monthly universal child care benefit ($160 for children under six and $60 for children between six and 17, under proposed changes), and the Canada child tax benefit (CCTB) , a tax-free benefit available to eligible families that helps with the costs of raising children under 18. To make sure you receive your benefits and credits, you should file your return every year, even if you have not received income in that year.
Giving your children the opportunity to grow and explore life is the fun part of parenting! Whether your child scores touchdowns at amateur football games or dives into swimming lessons like a future Olympian, the fees for these types of recreational activities can add up. Save your receipts so that you can claim up to $1,000 per child under the children’s fitness tax credit . If your child attends programs that contribute to his or her artistic development, like tickling the ivories at a piano recital or going to computer camp, you also may be eligible to claim up to $500 per child under the children’s arts tax credit.