Kansas Adoption Overview
Currently, Kansas offers several options for those wishing to adopt. Broadly, there are two types of adoption: independent adoption, which occurs between one person or a couple and the adoptive parent, and agency adoptions. Agency adoptions include both public (those through a public agency) and private (those through a private agency). Independent adoptions are for couples or individuals that wish to go through the process without the assistance of an agency. Adoptions through agencies can be completed within the state, or across state lines. In addition, there are international adoptions, which are coordinated through agencies both in the United States and abroad. All adoptions, regardless of type , require both parents to provide a written consent to adoption and a relinquishment of parental rights. The signing of the relinquishment document generally gives away the authority of parenthood for the birth parents, and they are not eligible to receive any other legal or parental status over the child once a court enters a final decree of adoption. It is important to note that adoptions in Kansas are permanent events that terminate the rights of any biological parents, thereby establishing legal rights to the adoptive parents. There are some temporary adoptions, such as Step-parent adoptions or Temporary Managing Conservator adoptions, but these do not carry the same permanence associated with traditional adoptions.
Eligibility Requirements for Adoptive Parents
In Kansas, the law stipulates specific eligibility criteria that must be met to qualify as an adoptive parent. These criteria go beyond the basic requirements of being 18 years of age or older and in good health. The following are the eligibility criteria you must meet to adopt a child in Kansas: Applicants cannot be in poor physical or mental health. If such an individual wishes to adopt, he or she must provide current medical documentation of his or her ability to fulfill the adoption role in the absence of a spouse. Current medical documentation is required of every individual in the home exceeding the age of 18 years. You do not need to be legally married to adopt in Kansas. However, if you are part of a couple, you must be married; single individuals may adopt without any relationship to anyone. Your partner does not have to be a Kansas resident in order to adopt in Kansas with you. However, any other family member in the household, including children, must be a Kansas resident at the time of the adoption. Kansas courts are required to perform a criminal background check through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation on all applicants. The check covers all adult family members residing in the home. Failure to successfully complete the check may result in an unfavorable recommendation to begin the adoption process.
Kansas Adoption Process
The process of adopting a child can be both joyous and complicated. Understanding the steps of adoption in Kansas can make a difference. Like many other states, the adoption process is divided into three stages:
The home study process is an involved one. In fact, you may wonder whether it is worth it once you learn what it entails. Because it is so thorough, however, you may find it easier to ensure that you are prepared. The first step of the process involves the evaluation of your ability to care for a child through the completion of forms and background checks. You will need to share information about yourself, your family, your health and your finances with an adoption agency. The agency will then interview you and visit your home. After the adoption agency has gathered your information, it will make a recommendation to the Kansas Department for Children and Families about whether you should be approved as an adoptive parent. Your ability to adopt may rest in part on the ability of the agency to recommend you. The next stage of the process is usually to apply to adopt a child. If you are adopting through an agency, you will typically work with the agency during this step of the process. If you are adopting through DCF, you may simply apply directly to the agency. You will need to provide DCF with information about yourself and your home, after which point you will enter into placement. During the placement process, you may also receive information about birth parents, the birth parents’ rights and how the process interacts with the birth family’s wishes. The home study that was performed in Stage 1 is meant to prepare you for the placement of a child within your home. While some states require that you wait six months after placement to finalize, Kansas allows you to finalize in as little as six months.
Relinquishment and Consent to Adoption
A biological parent who wishes to place a child for adoption after voluntary relinquishment can always do so by giving up all rights and responsibilities or parental obligations for the child. Relinquishment is a legal process to terminate the relationship with the child. When a relinquishment is executed, the biological parent is no longer the child’s legal parent and thereby cuts off his or her parental rights. The parent must have the capacity to relinquish parental rights and consent to the adoption by a legally coherent voluntary action. The parent must have an understanding of what relinquishment and consent mean and be able to follow the legal process that results from the relinquishment and consent. In the adopted child’s eyes, this relinquishment can often leave a perceived emptiness or a void.
Consent is the formal approval of a legally mandated right or obligation. Consent is required for a biological parent to relinquish parental rights and give up the child who is to be adopted. Consent for relinquishment of parental rights and consent for adoption is usually both granted at the time of relinquishment. However, they can be separated. If consent is given to some but not all legal adoption actions, there are judges who believe a consent form must better specify all the rights being relinquished .
In Kansas, usually consents to relinquishment are entered before state employees. This is still rare considering how much of an event an adoption is, but that makes it like terminating a marriage with a divorce where it is presumed consent was given. If a consent is made in front of a non-state employee and only signed, it is not effective because the person must be signing while they are with the state official or in the state office. By signing in front of an attorney, that satisfies the requirement set forth in Williams v. State, 203 Kan. 646, 457 P.2d 1 (1969), which was discerned from In re Vesper, 185 Kan. 632, 347 P.2d 420 (1959).
Kansas does presume that if a parent consents to the adoption of the child’s sibling, than they also consent to the adoption of the child as well. However, based upon the Supreme Court’s holding in In re Adoption of R.S.A., 33 Kan. 170, 992 P.2d 935 (2000), an indivisible relinquishment form must be utilized. Since the relinquishment and consent are indivisible and more than one party may wish to adopt, we know it is useful to have one form. Looking out for what is in the presumed best interests of the child and of the birth parents and the adopting parents.
Kansas Adoption Fees and Financial Assistance
Adoption Fees and Money You May Have Available to You
As of the time of this writing, an adoption from foster care in Kansas through SRS is entirely free. The fees discussed only relate to private adoptions outside of the foster care system. For a step-parent adoption, SRS will not be paid to perform the home study, but the other fees from an attorney or a CPA are still applicable for a step-parent adoption.
An attorney may charge anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than a few thousands dollars depending on the complexity of the adoption, if home visits are required by the court, and a host of other factors. Again, the entire process can often be completed for under $1,000.00 plus the court costs. Having spoken to many families who retained attorneys at an extremely low cost, I can assure you that you definitely get what you pay for when using a low cost attorney. For example, with regard to relative adoptions, I have seen an attorney do as many as four or five relative adoptions for a family at once without ever talking to the family, and perhaps not even talking to the relative who was being adopted. As a result, we have received adoption registrations from the court listing incorrect birth dates, missed the deadline for obtaining open adoption subsidies, and other errors committed at the expense of the family. However, there are of course exceptions, and several excellent smaller, family owned law firms exist in various parts of the state.
Kansas allows for the use of adoption subsidies for some adoptive families. To qualify for adoption subsidies the child must meet one or more of the following criteria:
Final Adoption Subsidies include a monthly payment, payment of medical costs, fees, social security, and day care payments. Other final adoption assistance is usually a one-time payment for moving expenses and possible other payments.
Interstate adoption subsidies are available to those who obtain adoption assistance from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado or New Mexico. These states have a reciprocal agreement with Kansas for adoption subsidies.
There is also a "bridging" agreement for children with medical needs who are already taking medical assistance (medicaid) at the time the adoption is finalized.
Not every child with special needs available for adoption will be approved for coordination of an adoption subsidy in Kansas. The final determination rests with the financial assistance supervisor, and can be appealed to the program manager.
The application process for adoption assistance requires that the family provide extensive information and documentation about their income, employment, debts, age, marital status and other things. Additionally, detailed information about the child will also be needed, including a complete medical history, information about reimbursements already received, and the degree of the child’s physical and mental disabilities.
Generally, the longer the child has been in foster care and the more time that has lapsed between the child entering the system and the initial adoption assist application, the greater the chance the application for adoption assistance will be approved.
Post-Adoption Support Services
After the dust from the adoption soars, many parents enter a new world of uncertainty. We begin to question ourselves and whether or not we are providing everything our adopted child needs from a parenting standpoint. But rest assured, there are many post-adoption support and resources available. It is important to stay connected with your adoption attorney and agency (if applicable) after the adoption. They have resources for parents in Kansas who have completed an adoption within the last 12 months. In addition to your lawyer and agency, there are non profit organizations that have beneficial programs and resources for Kansas families. These include: The Kansas Adoptee Rights Coalition(KARCO) KARCO actively works on legislation affecting adoption in Kansas, but it is more than just another lobbying group . It is also a statewide adoption support network providing resources to adoptive families all over the state. Like Facebook and YouTube, KARCO has an extensive digital library of events and resources for all Kansas adoptive families. The Kansas Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies (KALAA) KALAA is a non-profit association of licensed Kansas adoption agencies. Membership includes professional support and resources that Kansas families can utilize. They also have several educational events and training courses that families and adoptive professionals can take advantage of. The Kansas City Care Connection In addition to the previous Kansas-based resources, the Kansas City Care Connection provides Kansas adoptive families Kansas City area support resources, including access to behavioral health services and contacts for adoption support services.