Thinking of adopting?

Do you have time, care, patience, and the space in your home for a child? If you think you would like to adopt and share your life with a child, we at Lifeline Foundation have put together the necessary steps and information for adopting a child from the Philippines for you.

What is adoption?

Adoption is for a child who is not able to live with his immediate or extended family. It is for a child who will not be able to return to them in the future, although for some children, they may sustain some connection with their birth relatives. It is a legal process, enabling the child to have the legitimate status of a birth child in connection to their adoptive family. The adoptive family takes full accountability for the child once an adoption order is made in court. The child customarily takes the adopters’ last name. New families provide these children with that integral sense of belonging and protection.

Types of adoption in the Philippines:

1. Agency adoptions are those in which a licensed adoption agency finds and develops adoptive families for children who are voluntarily or involuntarily committed. The adoptive families go through the process from application to finalization of the child's adoption under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development or a licensed child-placing agency like the KaisahangBuhay Foundation. Through this type of adoption, the legal rights of the child, the parents who gave birth to the child and the parents who will adopt the child, are all equally protected.
2. Family or relative adoptions are those where the biological parents make a direct placement of the child to a relative or a member of their extended family with whom they relinquish their child.
3. Private or independent adoptions could either be a direct placement to a family known by the child's biological parents or through the use of an intermediary or a go-between. In an intermediary placement, an individual knows of parents who want to have their child adopted and arranges such placement to a family or someone who wants to adopt. These intermediaries are generally well meaning and have good intentions. However, one must be wary of "black market" placements, which involve an intermediary who brings together a person who has a child and individuals who want to adopt, for the sole purpose of making a profit. This practice does not consider the best interests of the child nor the legal rights of biological parents and adoptive parents.