Virginia’s Adoption program was founded on the principles of providing permanent, safe, and loving homes for children by legally transferring parental responsibilities from birth/legal parents to adoptive parents. The best interests of the child should be reflected in every decision made for children with a permanency goal of adoption. Virginia provides culturally competent services to birth/legal parents, children, and resource parents to support permanency for children and youth while strengthening the well-being of all involved parties.

When you adopt, you expand your family by taking a child (or children) into your home as your own family member(s) and then care for and nurture them to adulthood and beyond. While foster care adoptions are the most frequent, there are several types of adoption such as international, stepparent, close relative, parental placement and adult adoption.

Agency versus Non-Agency Placements

Chapter 12 of the Code of Virginia governs adoption procedures. Virginia law allows only two types of adoptive placements and they are agency placements and non-agency placements.

Agency Placements

(placements through local departments of social services or licensed child placing agencies)

Agency placements occur when the child is in the custody of Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) or Licensed Child-Placing Agency. In this situation, all parental rights are terminated, custody with authority to place for adoption is granted to the agency, and the agency consents to the child's adoption.

The priority of the LDSS is to work with the family of origin or prior custodian to return the youth home. The goal is to place children home with their family of origin within 12 months and if the goal is changed to Adoption, it should be finalized within 24 months of a youth entering into foster care.

Non-Agency Adoptions

(parental, stepparent, adult, close relative and intercountry placements)

Non-agency adoptions involve children who are not placed in the custody of a Local Department of Social Services and are administered by License Child Placing Agencies (LCPA). In a non-agency placement, the birth parents or legal guardian(s) consent to the adoption and parental rights are terminated by entry of the final order of adoption. These types of adoptions are parental placement adoptions, stepparent adoptions, close relative adoptions and adult adoptions.

• A parental placement adoption is one where the birth parent places the child with the prospective adoptive parent(s).
• A stepparent adoption is one where termination of parental rights of one parent has occurred and a new parent, such as a new spouse is adopting the child.
• A close relative adoption is one where a close relative is adopting a child.
• Adult adoptions occur when one or more persons adopt a person over the age of 18. LDSS are not involved in these adoptions unless the Circuit Court orders the LDSS or LCPA to provide a report of investigation or a suitability report.

To learn more information, please visit the Virginia DSS website.