On occasion I get an e-mail from an individual who is single or a single parent wondering if they would be eligible to adopt. I am always so pleased and impressed by the single men and women who are already parents or who want to be parents by building a family through adoption. Single parenting does not come easy and comes with unique challenges that couples who adopt may not have. However, these individuals are willing and ready to open their homes, hearts, and world to a child.
I am pleased to say that “yes” single men and women are able to adopt, and in fact it is becoming even more prevalent with the acceptance of more families run by single parents. In 1994 the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse wrote a comprehensive informational report titled “Single Parent Adoption: What you need to know” This article touches on points such as; Why single parenting has become more prevalent, obstacles a single individual will face when adopting, and steps to take if you are looking to adopt. The articles further document studies that suggest that children adopted into single parent households, develop and progress as well as adopted children in families with two parents. These researchers concluded that “single parent homes may be particularly suited for children who need intense and close relationships and thus particularly appropriate for many of the older children in foster care who are now being prepared for permanent homes. For some children, such a close bond may meet a need and be a path to normal development.”
Although this is an informative and comprehensive report that has been written, one has to keep in mind that it is now 12 years old. While doing research on this topic I actually found this article copied on a number of different websites, but then found very few updated resources that discussed Single Parent Adoption. However, I’m hopeful that the acceptance of Single Parent Adoption has continued, more research will be done, and more single parent families will be built through adoption.
Resources for Single Parent Adoption
Single Parent Adoption: What you need to Know
Single Parent Adoption Network
Single Parent Match.com
Single Parent Adoption.com