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Adoption
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Do you have to be a certain age to adopt?
You must reach age 18 before the adoption is finalized and you must be at least ten years older than the child you wish to adopt.
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Do you have to be married to adopt?
You may be single, married, in a domestic partnership or a civil union. The Division will not preclude a person from being an adoptive parent based solely on their culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, affectional orientation, or marital/civil union or domestic partnership status.
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Do you have to own your own home?
You can own your own home or rent a house or an apartment. The child does not need his/her own bedroom, but must have his/her own bed and enough space for his/her personal belongings.
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Do you have to be wealthy?
You must be able to financially support and care for your family.
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Can I receive assistance to adopt?
An adoption subsidy is available to most families who adopt children with special needs. Subsidy includes a monthly payment including clothing allowance, coverage of medical care through the NJ Medicaid program and payment of legal fees to finalize the adoption. More information...
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Do you have to be a U.S. Citizen to adopt?
No. You do not need to be a US citizen, but you must have legally entered the United States and plan to stay long enough for a placement to occur.
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How long will it take?
This is one of the hardest questions to answer because it depends on so many things, such as:
- the type of child (age, sex, race, health, etc.) in which you are interested. The more flexible and open you are to the child who will enter your family, the more quickly you will be considered as an adoptive parent;
- the number and type of children in need of adoption placement;
- how quickly you can provide references, medical reports, etc.
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If I am interested in a New Jersey child featured on this web site, what should I do?
If you are a New Jersey resident, please EMAIL or call 1-800-99-ADOPT.
If you are an out of state resident, please e-mail the Coordinator of the NJ Adoption Resource Exchange by clicking here. Include with your message, the name and birth date of the child in whom you are interested, as well as your name, address and telephone number. If you already have an approved home study, please also include your caseworker’s name and the name and telephone number of the agency with which you’re working. The Exchange Coordinator will contact you to provide additional information and will advise you of the next steps.
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