Adopting a Child: 7 Challenges Single People Face

Every state allows single people to adopt, but you will face a few challenges.

Here are 7 challenges you will face:

1. The task of finding an adoption agency to work with:

Not all agencies accept single applicants. Some will deny you outright. Others will consider you for special-needs children only. (Many private and state agencies welcome single applicants for their waiting children - those who, for whatever reason, they've not been able to find homes for or who have been difficult to place).

2. Birthmothers' preferences for two-parent families and the number of two-parent families available:

Most birthmothers want their children to be raised in a two-parent family, and they have plenty of two-parent families to choose from, especially if they're placing a healthy infant.

3. Your gender:

Fair or not, if you're a single man, you may have a more difficult time adopting, especially if you're adopting a female child. You're likely to be looked on with suspicion, whether you adopt domestically or internationally. A man adopting a female child in China, for example, has to be at least 40 years older than his daughter, the presumption apparently being that such an age difference guarantees that his feelings remain paternal.

Many singles decide to adopt internationally. Because an abundance of countries offers adoptions at any given time, you have an abundance of opportunities to adopt. Although not every country will place a child with a single parent, many countries do.

If you're a single parent, you may be scrutinized even more thoroughly in the home study process. Parenting is tough even when two parents are involved. The responsibility is even more difficult for single parents. So not only do you have to prove that you're prepared to be a parent, you also have to convince your social worker that you're prepared to be a parent alone.

Here are some more issues you are likely to discuss:

4. The support system you have in place to help you raise a child:

Who will provide child care? Who can you call in an emergency? If you get sick and are hospitalized, where would the child go? What if you die? If you adopt a child of a different gender, who will act as a role model as that child grows to adulthood?

5. Your Finances:

Can you financially afford to provide adequately for this child?

6. Your future plans:

What happens if you decide to marry, and your potential spouse isn't keen on the child?

7. Your expectations of parenthood:

Are you prepared to be on call 24/7? Do you realize that you're the only one there to get up in the middle of the night with a sick child? Are you prepared to bear the entire burden of making all the parenting decisions (how to discipline, when to potty train, when to let your daughter date, and so on)?