Who can adopt a child in Russia and how. Analysis
More than 30,000 children in Russia are without parental care and waiting to be adopted. To become a foster parent, you need to undergo special training and a medical checkup, after which you will have the opportunity to meet with the child. The final decision on adoption is made by the court. How this procedure goes and what requirements must be met is described in the Izvestia article.
What is the difference between adoption and custody?
• Those who are ready to adopt a new child into their family should first determine the procedure by which this will happen. In addition to adoption, there is also such a thing as custody. At first glance, they are similar, but there are fundamental differences between them. If adoption establishes a kinship relationship between a child and an adult, then guardianship means that a child left without parents enters a new home only as a foster child.
• Custody of a child left without care is established for a certain period of time. He can leave his guardians at any time when he has a chance to get a permanent family again: if the biological parents have been restored to their rights, if the parents disappeared and then were found, if the incapacitated parents have recovered, if adults have appeared who are ready for a full-fledged adoption. Custody is usually a temporary event and is established in relation to minor relatives.
• Those who are under guardianship are subject to mandatory supervision by the guardianship authorities, which have the right to take the child away in case of any violations. Guardians must provide a report on the disposal of the child's funds and property, must be conscientious about upbringing and maintenance, cannot automatically transfer their last name to the child, the status of the ward becomes publicly known, he does not have the secret of adoption.
• Adoption is a more complex and lengthy procedure that takes place in court, but it is the primary form of placement of the child that best meets his interests. In the process of adoption, the child is equated with a blood relative and receives all the rights arising from this. This process can only be reversed by a court decision and with good reason. At the same time, adoption is often preceded by custody, these two forms of adoption of a child into a family can follow one another.
Who can adopt a child
• There are a number of conditions for foster parents, without which they will not be able to proceed with the adoption procedure. You cannot be legally incompetent or have an incapacitated spouse, have been deprived of parental rights in the past, have been removed from custody, or have been terminated by an adoptive parent by a court decision. The age difference between a foster parent and a child must exceed 16 years, but in certain cases, if there is already an attachment between them, this requirement becomes optional. There is no requirement to be married for adoption, but two people who have not formalized their relationship cannot become parents of the same child.
• The adoptive parent must meet the medical requirements. He will not be able to take a child in the presence of tuberculosis or infectious diseases until the medical supervision is stopped. For people with HIV infection, it is mandatory to be monitored by a doctor for at least one year. Mental and behavioral disorders, drug addiction, substance abuse and alcoholism, diseases and injuries that have led to group I disability are also obstacles to adoption. It is forbidden to adopt in the presence of malignancies of stages III and IV, as well as stages I and II, if radical treatment has not been completed. However, if the child is already living with the future parent, the court may not take into account the state of health when deciding on adoption.
• The foster parent must have a permanent place of residence, but this requirement does not apply to indigenous people who lead a nomadic lifestyle and want to adopt a child from their own people. The adoptive parent must also have a steady income that will provide the child with a living wage in their region, but there is an exception to the rule here — under special circumstances, the court may allow adoption if it meets the interests of the child.
• You cannot become an adoptive parent if you have a criminal record for a number of crimes, including serious and especially serious crimes against sexual integrity, life, health, family and minors. Adoption is also prohibited for persons who are in a same-sex marriage registered in another country, or for single Russians who have a second citizenship and a same-sex marriage is allowed in the country of the second citizenship. Starting in 2024, it is also not allowed to adopt after a sex change or if you have the citizenship of a country in which such a procedure is allowed.
What kind of training should be done
• A separate requirement is to complete special training courses at the foster parents' school. This is not necessary only for the adoptee's close relatives, stepfathers and stepmothers, as well as current adoptive parents and guardians.
• The courses will teach about the intricacies of adoption, legislation in this area, support measures and psychological difficulties faced by foster families. Also, during the training process, teachers will help you understand whether future parents are really ready for adoption. Not only parents can be trained, but also their blood children.
• The courses are conducted in the format of face-to-face classes and trainings, face-to-face and online, the total duration is usually up to 80 academic hours. The courses are free of charge. At least 70% of the classes must be completed, otherwise the training will have to start over with the next group. After the courses, a certificate of completion is issued, which is valid throughout the country, and not just the region where the training took place.
How is the adoption process going?
• Adoption begins with the submission of a package of documents to the local guardianship authority. It includes passport data, information about citizens living at their place of residence, a certificate of absence of criminal records that are an obstacle to adoption, a brief autobiography, a certificate from the place of work indicating the average salary for 12 months, an opinion on the results of a medical examination, a marriage certificate and a certificate of foster parent training. Based on the results of the inspection, the guardianship authority will issue an opinion on the possibility of becoming an adoptive parent.
• The conclusion is necessary in order to register as an adoptive parent. This opens up the possibility of choosing children for adoption. You can find out which children are looking for parents in federal or regional questionnaire banks. Registered adoptive parents get access to the child's complete data. Without this, you can only see the name, age and photo of the child, find out a brief description of the character, state of health, reasons for the absence of parents and information about siblings. The Federal Bank makes it possible to choose a child according to various parameters, including hair and eye color.
• After choosing a child, a referral is given to visit him. It is valid for 10 days, during which time you need to arrive at the orphanage where the child is being held. Meeting is a prerequisite for further adoption. It can be held at home, on a walk or in some other place, but the child must be returned after that. Parents have the right to conduct their own medical examination of the child and then decide whether they are ready to take him into the family. If not, they will be able to get permission to visit another ward.
• If everything is successful, then you can apply to the court for adoption. At this time, other parents will no longer be able to get a referral to this child. It is important to note that a child who is over 10 years old will have to give consent for adoption. It is also impossible to adopt a child without his siblings (including incomplete ones) if they are familiar with each other and have already been raised together.
• The final decision on adoption is made by the court at the place of residence of the parents or the child. When filing a claim, you must again provide documents confirming the possibility of becoming a foster parent, as well as the consent of the child's legal representative — his guardian or an employee of the orphanage. If there are two parents, then both of them must provide documents. The claim will be considered within two months, and the parents themselves, representatives of the guardianship authorities, the local prosecutor, and the child, if they are already 14 years old, must be present at the meeting. The court has the right to involve the biological parents in the consideration of the claim.
If the court has made a decision on adoption, it must be submitted to the registry office. He will issue an adoption certificate and a new birth certificate for the child, in which you can specify a new first name, last name and patronymic. You can also change the date (but not more than three months) and the place of birth if the child is under one year old. In this case, the old document is subject to seizure and destruction. After the child moves to a new home, the guardianship authorities have the right to conduct four more control examinations: after six months, one, two and three years.
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