ELIGIBILITY

It’s great that you are interested in adoption. We want to help you build a family. Many different people can become successful parents. People of all ages, race, social background, sexual orientation and financial status can adopt a child. You don’t have to be married to adopt a child, our agency accepts both married and single parents. Also you don’t need to own your own house, it is perfectly acceptable to have a rented apartment. There is no pre-determined income level, your source of income may come from employment, pension or disability payments. You can already be a parent or without any children. The state of Florida allows step parents to adopt their step children and you don’t have to be a resident of Florida to adopt a child.

The only factor that is required to adopt is your ability to love and care for the child. The adoptive parent should have the health and energy to provide long term care for the child, however this does not mean that disabled people are automatically excluded. Some adoptive families already have children and you should be able to meet the need of the adopted child as well as your existing family needs. Our adoptive parents come from all sorts of homes.

The important thing is the security and the environment that the child is placed into. It is good for the child to live in a community that has a medical facility and space to play outdoors. The adoptive parents should be able to provide comfortable living conditions to the child.

We believe that children need families who can help them grow up feeling good about themselves. The nurture of the child in early years is critical in shaping her/his personality. There are certain characteristics needed to be a good adoptive parent. These include being stable, dependable, mature, flexible, having the ability to advocate for children and being a team player with your family.

You need to have an approved home study before you can adopt. For interstate adoption, you must contact a licensed agency in your state to complete the home study that must meet the requirements of Interstate Compact for placement of children. For more information on who may adopt and the process involved, please call us at (813) 835-6000, or contact us via email. We are available to help you any way we can.