Public adoptions
Learn how to adopt a child who is in the permanent care of a children’s aid society.
About public adoption
Public adoptions are adoptions of children in the permanent care of children’s aid societies, known as children in extended society care.
Most children in extended society care are not infants. They are often older, may have special needs and may have siblings who are also in society care.
When an Ontario court decides a child must be permanently removed from their birth parents, the court may place the child in extended society care. Children’s aid societies are required to make all reasonable efforts to pursue an enduring relationship within a family for a child in their extended care through adoption, legal custody and, for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and youth, customary care.
Children’s aid societies may also facilitate the adoption of children whose birth parents decided to make adoption plans for their children and approached the children’s aid society for help. These children are not in extended society care.
There are services to help you during the adoption journey.
Cost
There is no cost for prospective adoptive parents to go through a public adoption process with a children's aid society.
Time to complete the process
There is no set waiting period. Each adoption process is unique and the time it takes varies for each child and family.
Once you are approved to adopt by a children’s aid society it’s likely to take six months to two years or longer for you to be matched with a child.
Open adoptions
In certain circumstances it may be in the best interests of a child who is being adopted to maintain contact with their birth parents or someone else with whom the child has a meaningful relationship. This is called an open adoption.
Open adoptions help facilitate ongoing communication and/or maintenance of relationships between the child and:
- people from the child's birth family
- a person that the child has significant relationship with (for example, a foster parent)
- a member of the child’s band or First Nations, Inuk or Métis community (if adoption is the best option for the child, customary care is the preferred option for permanent care for First Nations, Inuk or Métis children)
Openness helps support continuity of relationships, community and culture for the child after they are adopted, when it is in the best interest of the child.
Openness orders or agreements can be pursued for public adoptions if it is in the best interest of the child. Openness orders or agreements allow for some form of contact between the child, the new family and agreed upon people. Openness orders are made by a court, usually with the consent of all parties involved. Societies can help you with developing openness agreements. Learn more about openness in adoption.
Public adoption process
Step 1: Contact the Centralized Adoption Intake Service
The Centralized Adoption Intake Service has a website and support staff to help you as prospective parents who are exploring adoption.
The Centralized Adoption Intake Service:
- provides general information about adoption to educate and prepare prospective adoptive parents at the start of the adoption learning journey to help you make an informed choice on whether public adoption is suitable for your family
- answers questions about the public adoption system
- can help you complete an adoption application for children’s aid societies
To learn more about adoption, contact the Centralized Adoption Intake Service.
The Centralized Adoption Intake Service is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and managed by the Adoption Council of Ontario.
Step 2: Contact your local children’s aid society
Children's aid societies manage all public adoptions. Contact your local children’s aid society to get started with the adoption application process.
They will ask you to:
- attend an orientation session, where you will learn more about becoming an adoptive parent of a child who is in the permanent care of the children’s aid society
- complete an application form that formalizes your intent to adopt and provides your adoption preferences
Step 3: Complete homestudy and mandatory training
The children’s aid society will assign you an adoption worker who will guide you through the two phases of the approvals process:
- a homestudy
- adoption preparation training
You’ll be able to adopt a child from a children’s aid society once these two components are complete and you are approved by the children’s aid society.
Homestudy
The Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) homestudy is mandatory and consists of four to six interviews over four to six months. It determines whether you’re ready to be an adoptive parent and what type of child you’re best suited to adopt by:
- identifying your skills and readiness to raise an adopted child
- assessing your home environment
- helping you understand what is involved in becoming an adoptive parent
- helping you understand what is involved in raising an adopted child
If you are adopting an Indigenous child or youth, your homestudy may be done using the Helping Establish Able-Resource Homes Together (HEART) tool. The HEART homestudy is designed to strengthen the capacity of children’s aid societies to effectively support and assess Indigenous and non-Indigenous caregivers to care for Indigenous children and youth.
Learn more about what to expect during the homestudy and the documents you need to provide.
Mandatory adoption preparation training
You must complete mandatory training as part of the adoption process. The Parent Resources for Information and Development and Education (PRIDE) program is a 27-hour curriculum to help you prepare for raising an adopted child. It can be completed at the same time as your homestudy.
If you are adopting an Indigenous child or youth, you may complete the Strong Parent Indigenous Relationships Information Training (SPIRIT) program instead. The SPIRIT program is designed to prepare caregivers to meet the needs of Indigenous children, and help ensure that the child’s culture, heritage and identity are supported and maintained.
Learn more about the PRIDE program.
Step 4: Finding a match
Your adoption worker will work with you to match your family with a child. The most important consideration is whether the match is in the best interest of the child.
There are resources to improve your chances of finding a match. You can:
- register on the adoption resources databank
- attend the Adoption Resource Exchange (a regularly-held conference)
- check out AdoptOntario’s programs that can help you find a match
Learn about registration on the adoption resources databank.
Step 5: Being matched
When your adoption practitioner finds a match:
- your adoption worker will prepare the social and medical history of the child and their birth family and provide you with a non-identifying version
- you will have time to consider the placement
- your adoption worker will share information about you with the child, based on their age and maturity level
If you, and the child where appropriate, decide to move forward, the child will make several visits to your home, including with the adoption worker, to get to know your family and surroundings before moving into your home.
Step 6: Adoption placement
After a child is officially placed in your home, there is an adoption adjustment period of at least six months to ensure the placement is appropriate for the child and your family.
The adoption worker will visit your home regularly to provide support, resources and assess how the child is adjusting.
Step 7: Finalizing the adoption
The adoption will be finalized when the:
- adjustment period is over
- adoption worker determines that the match is a good fit for the child and your family based on their report of how the child has adjusted to your home during this period
The children’s aid society will then take steps to finalize your adoption in an Ontario court.
An Ontario court will then make an adoption order that legally recognizes you as the child or youth’s adoptive parents and the child or youth as your adopted child or youth.
You may be eligible for financial assistance to help you with raising your children.