Adoption Services
Adoption means accepting a child born to someone else, and loving and caring for them as if they were your own. All the legal rights and responsibilities of parenthood are transferred from the birth parents to the adoptive parents and only the biological tie remains.
In New South Wales, adoptions are arranged by private adoption agencies and the Department of Community Services (DoCS). They are made legally binding by applying for an Adoption Order through the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Adoption today requires acknowledging the child's birth family, and assisting the child to know about their adoption and their background. Birth parents are encouraged to have contact with, and access to, their child after they have been placed; most contact is mediated through the adoption service.
The adopting family's acceptance of their child's birth family helps the child to accept themselves, their background; and helps them to understand the reasons why they could not remain with their birth family.
