Adoption
Adoption, in law, the act of taking a child of other parents into one's family as a son or daughter. Adoption is a legal process, and permission of a court is necessary. Consent of the natural parents or the child's legal guardian is required, and if the child is of a certain age his or her consent also is required. The adopted child acquires the same rights and duties as children born in the family.
There are two types of adoptions—agency adoptions and private adoptions. In the former, adoptive parents work through a licensed agency; in the latter, they deal directly with the biological mother. A biological mother who consents to a child's adoption before birth may revoke consent to the adoption during a specified period after the child is born. Adoptions made after the birth of the child can be revoked only if there had been fraud or duress in the process. In open adoptions, adoptive parents agree to allow biological parents to have some contact with the child after the adoption.
Adoption records are usually sealed and can be opened only by court order. Procedures for opening adoption records vary from state to state. After reaching adulthood, many adoptees attempt to locate their biological parents.
Adoption was common in ancient Rome but was not recognized in English common law. Massachusetts passed the first adoption law in the United States in 1851.