In the past, children were raised mostly by their biological parents. In the rare case that they were not, they had to either to survive on the streets or live in orphanages. However, times have changed, and today children can be raised in single-parent families, by grandparents, foster parents, stepparents, or other parenting figures, all this is due to the procedure of adoption, which has become common worldwide. However, the occurrence of adoption has a number of features which distinguish it from a simple residence of a child in a family. Adoption has been practiced throughout history. In the past years, adoption seemed to be a working solution to problem situations. In recent times, adoption has still become a distinct benefit for thousands of children in need of parents. It enables the lives of many children to be transformed. For many people today adoption is a way to create a family, or to others, it is a way to expand a family. It is a lifetime decision that should be made very carefully.
Adoption is a process where parents are provided for children whose biological parents are dead, or for those children whose biological parents are unable or unwilling to provide for their care. Adoption has a significant legal, emotional, psychological and social consequences for everyone involved. The adoption process in the U.S. is considered easier than many think. Although it may look difficult and it does take a lot of work and time, it is well worth the process and there are many organizations to walk you through the process steps. In the United States there are three main ways to adopt, foster care adoption, private domestic adoption and international adoption. Children adopted from foster care are those were involved with the child protective services system and removed from their families due to their families' inability or unwillingness to provide appropriate care for them. Public child welfare agencies oversee such adoptions, although they may contract with private adoption agencies to perform some adoption functions (Adoption USA).