Some couples choose to put their child up for adoption because they feel they don't have the financial resources to raise a child. Others feel they are too young or their education needs to come before children so they opt to put their child up for adoption (3).
There are relatively few legal restrictions on who may adopt. States most frequently regulate age, residence and marital status (Lasnik 13). Most states allow any adult determined to be a "fit parent" to adopt. However, factors such as marital states, age, race, and religion may affect whether a court finds the potential adoptive person a fit parent or determines the adoption to be in the "best interest" of the child (Sifferman 4). In reality, adoption be single adults is approved only in exceptional circumstance.
(Lasnik 15). When adoption agencies look for "fit parents", they tend to look for couples married at least two years, between the ages of 25 and 40, and have some sort of reliable income (Eades Online).
Various factors may define a child as a special needs child. These factors may include racial or ethnic origins, or physical, mental, or developmental disability. If a child is more than six years old, then the child also may be characterized as a special needs child because of age (Sifferman 58). Sifferman also expanded by saying, "the eligibility criteria for adopting parents are not their financial circumstances, but the circumstances of the child." The circumstances of the child include that the child cannot be returned to the birth parents, that the child is unlikely to be placed for adoption without a subsidy, and that reasonable efforts have been made without providing assistance. Because the demand or special needs children is often so low, many adoption standards are lowered significantly for anyone willing to adopt a special needs child (59).
Sifferman commented that early adoption laws usually did not require an investigation or evaluation of the fitness of the potential parents.
