Conversation Questions Adoption

- What is adoption?
- Do you know anyone who was adopted as a child?
- Do you know anyone who has adopted a child?
- What are some of the reasons people choose to adopt?
- What is the difference between domestic and international adoption?
- What are the views of adoption in your country?
- How would someone interested in adopting a child go about doing so?
- Where do children available for adoption come from?
- What happens to children that are not adopted?
- How do you go about adopting a child?
- Would you want to adopt a boy or a girl? Why?
- Do you think brothers and sisters should be separated in adoptions?
- Are adoptions common in your country?
- What are some organizations that help with adoptions?
- Should you tell the child that he or she was adopted? If so at what age? Or when?
- Should adopted children have the right to know their biological parents?
- Should families with birth children also adopt?
- Is the real parent the birth parent or the adoptive parent?
- Should adoptions be between children and families of the same race and or culture?
- How or should the adoptive parents maintain the adopted child's cultural identify?
- In your country are the legal rights of an adoptive child different from that of a birth child?
- What are the legal consequences of adopting a child from a different race or country?
- Why don't more people adopt children?
- What makes a family, genetics or environment?
- Do you support an open adoption policy where the birth parents can choose to be involved in the
child's life?
- Do you believe there is discrimination within the adoption organizations?
- Do you think a person should be able to adopt a child of a different race?
- Should a gay or lesbian couple be allowed to adopt a child?
-Should there be an age restriction for the adoptive parents?
- Should a single man or woman be able to adopt a child?
- If you were to find out that you were adopted and not really from the country where you are a citizen,
which nationality would you hope would be your true mother country? Why?
- When is the right time for a child to be told that he/she was adopted?
- Do you think it is preferable to adopt or to use artificial reproduction technology?
- Would you agree to an open adoption or closed adoption? Why?
- What is an open adoption?
- Would you want to find your birth family? Why or why not?
- Should prospective parents in adoption cases be required to do a parenting course?
- Are there any risks when adopting a child?
- Do you think biological parents should always have a right to keep their identity secret from the
children they give up for adoption? Why or why not?
- Do you think people who have been adopted should always have the right to find out who their birth-
parents are?
- How would you feel if a child you had adopted wanted to search for his or her birth parents?
- Do you think that adopted children should feel especially loved and wanted?
- Should people be allowed to adopt children of a different race and/or culture?
- What are some good points and bad points of this kind of adoption?
- How would you feel if you found out you were adopted?
- What would you do?
- Do you it is preferable to adopt or to use artificial reproduction technology?
- If you had a choice, would you want to be adopted?
- Should people be allowed to adopt children of a different race and/or culture? What are some good
points and bad points of this kind of adoption?
- How would you feel if you found out you were adopted? What would you do?
A Few Facts to Know About Adopting From Brazil
In March of 2018, Lifeline leadership and Lifeline Brazil program points had the opportunity to
travel to several states in Brazil to learn more about the country and grow in knowledge
regarding how the adoption process works in each state. Brazil is a country with a rich and
diverse culture. The people there are welcoming and have much pride in their country. For adoption,
specifically, Brazil is very unique in that each state is autonomous, allowing it to oversee the adoption
process within its state borders. This process is similar to the state autonomy present in the United
States.

On our trip to Brazil, we were able to visit Sao Paulo, Parana, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro. In each of
these states, we met with the central authority office (CEJAI) to hear first-hand about the process and
need in each state. These visits were a tremendous opportunity for our team to hear from the
directors, social workers, and psychologists working with the children of Brazil each day. We were
able to see their love and passion for the kids and their belief that every child has a right to a
forever family. In each state, we were told the biggest need is for families to adopt older children (8+)
and families to adopt sibling groups (2-3+). Because of the incredible diversity in Brazil, we have also
seen that children of all races are in need of loving, forever families.

Something very unique about Brazil is the required 3-4 week bonding period for families in country.
For some families, the in-country stay can be a deterrent when considering adoption from Brazil;
however, having spent time in Brazil, we see this bonding time to be extremely beneficial for the kids
being adopted and for the family as a whole. During this time, the child’s social worker or psychologist
visits weekly with the family and is an additional layer of support while in Brazil. Also, parents have an
incredible opportunity to spend time immersed in their child’s culture and language and truly
understand where their child comes from. This extended time set aside for bonding allows parents
and children to begin forming a solid foundation for their relationship, which is extremely
beneficial for the family once they are back home in the U.S.

Lifeline has been accredited in Brazil since 2011. We are one of only three U.S. agencies currently
accredited in the country of Brazil, and we are able to complete adoptions in each Brazilian
state. Our two pilot families have both completed the process and have been home for about a year!
Brazil is a Hague country and offers families general stability in the adoption process. We have seen
consistency and success in its adoption processes, and we appreciate the leadership’s desire to see
these precious children in families.

Brazil can be an amazing program for families who welcome stability in the process and who
are being led to be a forever family for children from various racial and ethnic diversities. Brazil
may also be a perfect program for families interested in older children and sibling groups!

To adopt from Brazil, both parents must be at least 21 years old and married for at least 2 years. Per
Brazil guidelines, single women are permitted to adopt. If you are interested in learning more about the
Brazil program and how you can be involved, contact Ferrah Poe for more information.
 HOW DOES THE ADOPTION PROCESS WORK IN BRAZIL?

Find out what you can and need to do to achieve adoption for a child and adolescent.
At the end of last year, President Michel Temer sanctioned Law 13,509 / 2017, which brought changes
to various legislation on the subject of adoption. Among the novelties, the following stand out:
 the new deadlines and procedures for the adoption of procedures, which are shorter than
previously foreseen in the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA);
 a simpler procedure for voluntary delivery of children and adolescents to adoption.
 the new law also brought changes to labor legislation, extending to adopting parents the same
guarantees as biological parents have, for example the right to maternity leave, childbirth intervals
adopted during the work day and stability in employment during the period of adoption provision.
With the new law, the legislator seeks to encourage and expedite the adoption procedure, making it
less bureaucratic for all involved, either who intends to adopt or who wants to give their son or
daughter to adoption.
However, in order to better understand these novelties, we need to take a few steps back and
analyze, albeit in a simplified form, the adoption institute. What is adoption and how long has it been in
Brazil? What does the Brazilian Law on Adoption say, how does the process work? These and other
themes will be explored in this text.

How does adoption work in Brazil?

Adoption, according to the illustrious jurist Orlando Gomes, is “the legal act by which, independently of
procreation, the bond of filiation is established.” In other words, adoption is the legal procedure in
which a child or adolescent becomes the offspring of a child. person or couple, with the same rights as
a biological child has. In Brazil, adoption has been foreseen since 1828, but it was only with the Civil
Code of 1916 (CC / 16) that an adoption procedure was established.

However, the adoption foreseen in that Civil Code reflected the customs of the time, being quite
conservative and allowing, for example, that only heterosexual people, married and without biological
children could adopt.

Over the years there have been changes to adoption. It was with the 1988 Federal Constitution that
the adoption institute gained its present features. Article 227, § 6 of the Constitution, for example,
eliminated any difference between biological or adopted children, establishing equal rights for both,
with the same right to membership. This paragraph seems logical, but it was an important change,
since by breaking with the paradigm that a family can only be constituted through marriage, this
increased the possibilities for adoption.

Finally, in 1990, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) came into force, whose articles provide for
the adoption procedure. Subsequently, in 2009, Law 12.010 / 2009 was enacted, which brought
innumerable innovations to adoption, allowing, for example: single people to adopt, provided they are
at least 16 years older than adopted; as well as creating the concept of extended family, that is, “that
which extends beyond the unity of parents and children or the unity of the couple, formed by close
relatives with whom the child or adolescent lives and maintains bonds of affinity and affection” .

In addition, the National Register of Adoption (CNA) was established, which should include children
suitable for adoption and applicants, avoiding irregular adoption, in which the couple simply “stays”
with the child and the child without any process legal or monitoring of the State.
 Adoption process: How is the process in Brazil?
To adopt in Brazil, the individual or couple must go through several stages, which are listed below:

1. Search for the Childhood and Youth Court of your municipality and know which documents
you should start putting together
The minimum age to qualify for adoption is 18 years, regardless of marital status, provided that the
difference of 16 years is respected between those who wish to adopt and the child to be fostered.
Among the documents you must provide are: identity document, CPF, marriage or birth certificate,
proof of residence, proof of income or equivalent declaration, medical certificate or statement of
physical and mental health, civil and criminal records;

2. Make an application for adoption (at the notary’s office of the Children’s Court)
In order to begin the adoption process, you will need to file an application for adoption (at the
Children’s Court registry office), which can be prepared by a public defender or private lawyer. Only
after approval, your name will be able to appear in the local and national registers of applicants for
adoption;

3. Course on psychosocial and legal preparation

The applicant (s) must carry out a course of psychosocial and legal preparation, which lasts about 2
months and has weekly classes. After the participation in the course has been proven, the candidate
is submitted to the psychosocial evaluation with interviews and home visits made by the
interprofessional technical team, made up of psychologists and social workers. The result of this
evaluation will be sent to the Public Ministry and to the judge of the Childhood Court;

4. Sentencia del juez sobre la adopción

A partir del laudo del equipo técnico de la Vara y del dictamen emitido por el Ministerio Público, el juez
dará su sentencia. En caso de que se solicite el solicitante (s) pretendido, el nombre de ellos en el
CNA, con validez por dos años en el territorio nacional. Con ello, el (los) pretendente (s) están
automáticamente en la cola de adopción de su estado y aguardará (a) hasta que aparezca un niño
con el perfil compatible con el perfil fijado por el (los) pretendiente (s), observada la cronología de la
(s) (que desea un niño con el mismo perfil y está en más tiempo en la cola de espera tendrá
preferencia);

5. Find a child or teen with the profile for your family

The Children’s Court will advise you that there is a child with the profile compatible with what you have
indicated. The child’s life history is presented to the adopter; if there is interest, both are presented.
The child will also be interviewed after the meeting and will say whether or not to continue with the
process.

During this stage of coexistence monitored by the Justice and the technical team, it is allowed to visit
the shelter where the child lives; give small walks to get closer and get to know each other better.
Forget the idea of visiting a shelter and choosing your child from those children. This practice is no
longer used to prevent children from feeling like objects on display, not to mention that most of them
are not available for adoption – many of them are in temporary shelters because their parents are in
rehabilitation of chemical dependencies or for lack of financial conditions, and, under these conditions,
respectively, will have their custody again after the end of treatment or when getting a job, for
example;
6. If everything goes well, the adoption action will begin and there will be provisional custody
of the child or adolescent
If the relationship goes well, the child is released and the suitor will bring the adoption action. When
entering with the process, the applicant will receive provisional custody, which will be valid until the
conclusion of the process. At that moment, the child moves in with the family. The technical team
continues to make periodic visits and will present a conclusive evaluation;

7. Sentence of adoption and registration of the child or adolescent in the family

Finally, the judge pronounces the sentence of adoption and determines the drafting of the new birth
record, with the surname of the new family. There is also the possibility of changing the child’s first
name. At that moment, the child becomes entitled to all the rights of a biological child.

Some questions you may have regarding adoption …

In addition to these steps, it is necessary to make three observations on the adoption process in
Brazil:

1. Who can adopt?

Single people, widows or living in stable union can also adopt; the adoption by homosexual couples is
not yet established by law, but some judges have already given favorable decisions regarding them.

2. Is it possible to choose a child or adolescent to adopt?

During the technical interview, the applicant will describe what he or she wants in the profile of the
child or adolescent. It is possible to choose the sex, the age group, the state of health, the brothers,
etc. When the child has siblings, the law provides that the group is not separated;

3. Is it possible to be disapproved in the adoption process?

If your name is not approved for adoption, find out why. Lifestyle incompatible with raising a child or
wrong reasons (to appease loneliness, to overcome the loss of a loved one, overcome marital crisis,
etc.) can make an adoption unfeasible. Do not worry, you can suit and start the process again!

Problems with adoption in Brazil

Contrary to what many people imagine, Brazil does not lack couples or people who wish to adopt. On
the contrary, according to data from the National Justice Council (CNJ), there are 7,158 children
eligible for adoption and 38,000 people interested in adopting.

Why, then, is there such a difference between adoptive children and pretenders who want to adopt
them? According to the CNJ, the biggest obstacle to adoption in Brazil is that the child profile
demanded by the applicants – that is, age, color / race, health – is not compatible with that available in
the host institutions. According to Judge Hélia Viegas, from the 1st Child and Youth Court of Recife-
PE, “The minority of the children is in the idealized profile, that is, white and less than four years. If the
requirements do not change, adoption by the ANC will take a long time. ” Another problem verified by
the CNJ is the demand of the applicants to adopt children without siblings, who are also the minority.
 Is adoption in the world very different from adoption in Brazil?
In much of the world, adoption standards are less demanding than Brazilian ones. However, this
“ease” of adoption abroad is not necessarily a good thing, since poverty, tragedies and wars end up
creating an export market for children. Examples are northern and central African countries, regions
affected by poverty and civil war, which require little bureaucracy to adopt, increasing the possibility of
trafficking in children and adolescents, for example.

There are also cases of countries such as China, where the one-child policy eventually led to
hundreds of thousands of children being abandoned (with minimal chance of being adopted by
Chinese couples) made available for international adoption.

In sum, most countries have less demanding and detailed rules of adoption than Brazil, although all of
them give the Judiciary the final say. Another difference from the majority is that Brazil prohibits the
participation of specialized agencies in the adoption process. Such agencies exist in other countries
and can be advantageous as they facilitate dealings with public agencies and all the bureaucracy and
documentation involved. But such “agility” comes with a price, allegations of corruption and the black
market of children linked to service delivery are frequent, according to Campell Law Observer.