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There are tens of thousands of children in the United States who have special needs and are waiting for permanent homes. In the past, children who have special needs have been generally considered harder to place for adoption than others, but in reality, many children with special needs can be successfully placed. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has focused more attention on finding permanent homes for those children who have special needs as well as making certain that they have the post adoption services they need.

When used in adoption, "special needs" may include several factors, and sometimes vary from one state to another. In general, children with special needs have physical or health problems, are older, are members of a minority group, have siblings and need to be adopted as a group, have HIV, have emotional problems, a history of abuse or neglect, have conditions that may lead to problems in the future, or have had some form of prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol. Nearly all special needs children who are eligible for adoption are currently in foster care.

Nearly any adoptive parent who has the commitment, skills, and preparation to adopt may adopt a special needs child. Most agencies differ in their specific requirements for adopting a special needs child, and the requirements for age and marital status tend to be less restrictive for special needs children. Most agencies will consider both single and married applicants from 18 to 50 years of age, and sometimes even older than 50. The age is often considered differently depending on the age of the child. Most agencies require that married couples be married for at least 1 to 3 years.

Article Keywords: Special Education

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Special Education... Does your Child Struggle in School? You Can Get Extra Help for Free If your child is struggling with learning or behavior, and these issues are impeding their ability to function optimally in school, you may have to consider the possibility of a learning disability. The good news is that there are a ton of services available to your child, and they’re free to access. These are called special education and related services. First of all, you needn’t be upset. As a school psychologist, I see approximately 20% of the student population for one reason or another. Services range from In-Class Support to Out-of-District Placement, and the range in between is significant. There are Resource Center placements that place your child in a smaller class environment for an extra period each day; there are replacement classes that offer a full class period of instruction in the Resource Center instead of the mainstream environment; there are self-contained classes for students with more significant learning difficulties. If you suspect your child has a learning disability, your first course of action is to request an evaluation. You’ll write a letter to your district’s IEP Team and they’ll have a short time period (usually 20 days) to get hold an Identification meeting with you. At that meeting, you’ll discuss your child’s difficulties with the Team, which consists of (at a minimum) a School Psychologist, Social Worker, Regular Education teacher, Special Education teacher, and district representative, which may or may not be one of the aforementioned members. At this meeting it will be decided whether or not to evaluate your child. If your child is deemed to necessitate an evaluation, then a three-pronged evaluation will begin. Your child’s IQ will be assessed, as will be their learning profile. A background interview will be conducted during...