Adoption laws and procedures in Florida reflect the interest of the State and the community in protecting the child, the natural parents, and the adoptive parents in adoption proceedings.

Adoption is the legal procedure by which a child becomes, through court action, part of a family other than that of his or her natural parents. It is a serious step for all concerned for it determines the entire future of the child since it severs ties with his or her natural parents and relatives permanently and transplants the child into a new family where he or she will remain until he or she is grown. To natural parents, adoption usually means relinquishing the child forever without the privilege of seeing him or her, or even knowing his or her whereabouts. To the adoptive parents, it means undertaking the care of a child who will become a permanent member of their family and to whom they will have the same obligations as if the child were born to them. Although an adult may be adopted, this article deals with adoption of minors, or persons under the age of 18 years.

The law provides that a child may be placed for adoption only by a licensed adoption agency, the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, or an intermediary. The law also requires consent of the State Interstate Compact Administrator to the bringing of a child into the State for adoption. Only the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services or a licensed adoption agency may place a child born , or in Florida, with adoptive parents residing out of the State of Florida.

A Child cannot be placed for adoption until the rights of the parents have been terminated by a court order; and the agency has been appointed guardian of the child. A licensed child-placing agency requires that a child reside with the adoptive parents for a period of time, perhaps as long as a year, before the adoption may be completed. During this period, the agency maintains contact with the adoptive parents and the child in order to assure that the placement is a happy one for all concerned. When a child is placed through an intermediary, the law requires that the child live with the parents for at least ninety (90) days under the supervision of the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services before the adoption is completed. Intermediaries must be physicians or attorneys licensed to practice in Florida or, for placement of children from out of state with Florida Citizens, a child-placing agency licensed in another state.

Unless consent is excused by the court, written consent has to be executed after the birth of the minor by: (a) The mother of the minor, (b) The father of the minor, if: (1) The minor was conceived or born while the father was married to the mother, (2) The minor is his child by adoption, (3) The minor has been established by court proceedings to be his child; (4) He has acknowledged in writing, signed in the presence of a competent witness, that he is the father of the minor and has filed such acknowledgment with the Vital Statistics Office of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services; (5) He has provided the child with support in a repetitive, customary manner, and (c) The minor, if more than 12 years of age, unless the court, in the best interest of the minor, dispenses with the minor's consent.

Persons who have obtained a child and the necessary written consent to adopt him or her must petition the circuit court for the adoption. The petitioner must be filed in the circuit court of the county in which the child is living at the time of filing the petition. Before a petition can be heard, the child must have lived ninety (90) days in the home of the petitioners, except where: (a) One of the petitioners is related to the child by blood; or (b) The petitioner(s) is (are) related to the child as a stepparent(s).

In filing an adoption petition, it is advisable for the adoptive parents to obtain the services of a lawyer who will advise them and take care of all the legal aspects of the adoption. Notice of the final hearing on the adoption must be sent to the agency making the investigation and the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services when its recommendation is required. Stepparents adoption no longer require that a Notice of Hearing and Investigation be sent to the Department or that a recommendation be made by the Department.

A hearing, at which the petitioners and the child to be adopted must be present, may be held in a judge's chambers at a time and place set by the judge. If the judge is satisfied that all requirements have been met, that the required reports and recommendations have been made, and that the adoption is in the best interest of the child, an order granting the adoption will be given. This order may change the name of the child to that requested by the adoptive parent(s). All records pertaining to the adoption are closed and kept in separate locked files. No person shall have access to these reports or records except by court order. The final step in the process will be for the clerk of the court to mail a copy of the court order of adoption to the Vital Statistics Office, and a new birth certificate for the person adopted will be issued by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. If the child was born outside the State, special procedures are provided by law regarding a new birth record. Citizenship of an adopted child is not affected by his or her adoption; that is, a Canadian child does not become a citizen of the United States if adopted by a Florida family. However, naturalization of an adopted child is possible.

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