Adoption means the transfer of parental rights and duties for a child from birth parents to adoptive parent/s on a permanent basis. Adoption is therefore a permanent legal relationship between the adoptive parent/s and the child. The child has the same legal rights, as if they were born to the adoptive family.
Adoption Services In South Africa
PROCARE boasts an Adoption Unit consisting of senior social workers who are accredited by the Department of Social Development to do Adoptions in accordance with the Children’s Act. Our social workers have also been registered and recognized as Adoption Specialists by the South African Council of Social Service Professionals, based on their experience and expertise in the field of Adoption.
OUR ADOPTION SERVICES:
National adoptions
Screening and preparation of individuals/couples/families to adopt babies of their own race and culture group
Cross-cultural adoptions
Screening and preparation of individuals/couples/families to adopt a baby of a different race or mixed-race babies.
Adoption counselling and assistance
Option -counselling and Assistance to birth mothers with unplanned pregnancies (Western Cape only).
Abandonment Investigations
Western Cape only
Assistance with the Court process and required documentation
Matching and Placement of babies with suitable Adoptive parents
Post adoption support
Post Adoption support are offered to the biological family, the adoptive parents and the adopted children
CHILDREN IN NEED OF ADOPTION
Ages: Spence-Chapin’s South Africa program places children ages 1 to 9 years old at the time of referral. Adoptive families can specify a narrower age range within those parameters.
Sex: Boy and girls are equally represented within the protective care system in South Africa; therefore, families adopting from South Africa must be open to adopting a child of either sex in order to ensure that all children have equal opportunity for permanency.
Race/Ethnicity: Families adopting from South Africa must be open to parenting a child of any race or ethnicity. However, the vast majority of children awaiting adoption in South Africa are Black, Zulu, Xhosa, or biracial.
Sibling groups: Sibling groups are very rarely available for adoption in South Africa. This is due to the typical ways by which children enter the adoption system. The most common reasons that children enter protective care are either parental abandonment at the hospital following birth, or a voluntary surrender of parental rights which is typically executed soon after a child’s birth.
Special Characteristics: All children placed through this program have special needs. Although adoptive families do not need to be open to all of the following characteristics, the following conditions are the most common needs of children awaiting adoption from South Africa: global developmental delay, prematurity, HIV, HIV-exposure, Hepatitis B, syphilis. Children receive comprehensive medical treatment while in protective care.
Living Environments: Foster care is not readily available in South Africa. Therefore, the vast majority of children who are placed for adoption are living in group-care settings within a children’s home or institution before placement.
STEPS FOR ADOPTING FROM SOUTH AFRICA
1. Apply
You can complete our FREE application and listen to the South Africa program webinar here.
2. Home Study and Training
All families must undergo a home study which is designed to prepare you for adoptive parenthood and assess your ability to parent an adopted child. For families living in New York and New Jersey (within 100 miles of our Manhattan office), Spence-Chapin will complete your home study.
For families living outside of that area, you will work with a local agency on your home study and Spence-Chapin will guide that agency to ensure that the home study they prepare meets all of the requirements of South Africa. The home study includes paperwork, clearances, interviews with a social worker, and a home visit.
For all families, Spence-Chapin will provide a pre-adoption training plan which will help you prepare for the unique considerations of adoptive parenthood. Our social workers facilitate trainings on trauma, attachment, bonding, transracial parenting, how to talk to your child about adoption, and more.
3. USCIS and Dossier
After your home study is complete, we will guide you in filing your application with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). All international adoptions are processed through USCIS and therefore in all international adoptions a family’s pre-approval with USCIS after home study is necessary before a family can receive a referral.
Once you have been approved by USCIS, Spence-Chapin will guide you in obtaining all documents required to be submitted to South Africa as part of your “dossier.” Spence-Chapin submits your dossier to Johannesburg Child Welfare and once your dossier is submitted, your officially eligible to receive a referral!
4. Wait Time
The typical wait time to receive a referral is approximately 24 months after submission of your dossier. Families who have a greater openness to more significant special needs and/or age of child may wait shorter. Families who have a very narrow openness to special needs and age of child may wait longer. Our social workers are here to support you during the wait!
Please note, that depending on how long you wait for referral, you may need to complete a home study update and extend your USCIS approval – we will keep track of those timelines and guide you though the process should that be necessary.
5. Referral and Pre-Travel
Johannesburg Child Welfare issues referrals in consideration of what characteristics your family is open to. When we receive a referral for your family, we will share all information provided with you.
A referral will contain photographs of the child, medical information on the child, details of the child’s legal process by which he/she became eligible for international adoption, and any known social information on the biological family. You are welcomed and encouraged to ask any questions you have about the child and information provided before making a decision on whether to accept the referral.
After you accept a referral, there will be further governmental approvals to obtain within South Africa and within the United States before you will travel to meet your child. Spence-Chapin and Johannesburg Child Welfare will ensure that all necessary approvals are obtained.
Please anticipate several months between when you accept a referral and when you travel to meet your child. During this time, we will prepare you for travel, meeting your child, and the transition to parenting him or her.
6. Travel
In order to complete the adoption process, adoptive parents must take one trip to South Africa. The trip length is anticipated as approximately 5-10 weeks. Your child will be placed into your custody soon after your arrival to South Africa and you will begin caring for your child 24/7. One week after you have taken custody of your child, you will finalize your adoption in a court in South Africa, accompanied by a JCW social worker.
After your adoption has been finalized, JCW will walk with you through every step of obtaining your child’s passport and visa. Once you have obtained your child’s visa, you will be ready to fly home with your child!
Throughout your whole time in South Africa, Spence-Chapin and JCW social workers are available to you around the clock. A JCW social worker will accompany you to all appointments and make scheduled visits to your family to check-in and offer support.
7. Post-Adoption Visits
Within the first 2-4 weeks of your arrival home, a post-adoption home visit will be scheduled by your social worker; this is designed to support your family during this significant transition. Additional post-adoption visits will be conducted at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years post-adoption. These visits are required by the South African Central Authority.
FEES Acquired for Adopting a child in South Africa
Did you know that the Adoption Tax Credit is available to families adopting internationally? In 2020, the Adoption Tax Credit was up to R 223206.27per child. This tremendously offsets the cost of adoption as most families are eligible.
Additionally, Spence-Chapin partners with the Adoption Finance Coach to provide our families with FREE access to experts, tools and content that can take the worry out of financing your adoption. Families who use Your Adoption Finance Coach typically raise R 78044.15-R 234132.45 for their adoptions.
How much does it cost to adopt a child in South Africa?
Adoptions can cost as little as a few thousand rand although the adoption can cost between R12 000 and R15 000 (not including the cost of the medical, police clearance and psychological examination which are usually extras).
How do I adopt a baby in South Africa?
If you want to adopt a child in South Africa, you must approach a registered adoption agency which will screen you and help you look for a child who is available for adoption. If you are a foreigner living in South Africa and want to adopt a South African child, your application will be regarded as national adoption.
Is adoption free in South Africa?
Cost. The fees cover administrative and legal work and professional services. They range from R12 500 to R28 000 and can even go up to R40 000 if the adoptive parents are paying the medical expenses of the birth mother.
How long is the adoption process in South Africa?
between 6 and 18 months
The process can between 6 and 18 months from start to finish. In many other countries applicants can wait 2 to 5 years before their adoption is approved. If your answer is that you want to adopt a white baby, there are considerable hurdles: The number of white babies up for adoption is very limited.
Is it hard to adopt in South Africa?
It can take as little as a few weeks but can sometimes take years, especially if the parents are very specific about race, age and gender. According to Robyn, many social workers recommend that parents see the process like a pregnancy, meaning that screening and matching will take on average about nine months.
Are there white babies for adoption in South Africa?
Some prospective parents waited three years or more for children of the same race. “The challenge in this regard is that white babies available for adoption are very scarce in South Africa and the waiting list for white families wanting to adopt a white child is extremely long,” said Oliphant.