Qualifications for Adopting an Infant

In order to qualify to adopt a newborn or infant through Bright Futures Adoption Center, prospective adoptive parents:

  1. Must complete a written adoptive parent intake form and participate in an initial consultation with Bright Futures Adoption Center;
  2. Must complete a minimum of ten hours of pre-adoptive parent education;
  3. Must have a favorable home study completed by Bright Futures Adoption Center or completed by a licensed adoption agency or social worker in the state where the adoptive parents reside within the last twelve months and approved by Bright Futures Adoption Center;
  4. Must have backgrounds free of conduct which in the judgment of Bright Futures Adoption Center could bear adversely upon their ability to provide for the safety and well being of children;
  5. Must reside in a home that meets the following minimum requirements:
    • The home must be clean, safe, and free of obvious fire and other hazards, including, but not limited to chipping, flaking or peeling paint or broken plaster;
    • The home must be of sufficient size to accommodate comfortably and appropriately all members of the household and the approved number of children to be placed;
    • The home shall have a working stove for cooking and adequate lighting and ventilation, hot and cold water supply, plumbing, electricity and heat;
    • The home shall have sufficient furniture to allow each child to sleep in a separate bed and to have adequate storage space for his or her personal belongings;
    • The home shall be equipped with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in working order;
    • If the home uses well water, it shall be tested and determined safe and a report of the test furnished to the agency;
    • Any firearms located in the home shall be registered and licensed in accordance with state law, trigger-locked or fully inoperable and stored without ammunition in a locked area. Ammunition shall be stored in a separate locked location.
    • A working telephone for both incoming and out-going calls shall be available in the home at all times;
    • All pets must be appropriate for the children in care, free from disease and parasites and licensed and/or vaccinated as prescribed by law; and
  6. Must have paid all pre-adoptive fees in accordance with Bright Futures’ policy on payment of fees.
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