Adopting a Child in Delaware

Adoptions are handled by the Family Court, in the county where the placing agency is located or where the petitioner lives. To adopt a child who is not their own, petitioners must be Delaware residents (or have had a child placed with them through an approved placement), must be over 21, and may be a single person, a divorced or legally separated person, a married couple petitioning together, or an unmarried cohabiting couple petitioning together. Except for stepparent, blood-relative and certain guardian adoptions, the child must be placed by the Department or a licensed agency after a preplacement evaluation, must be legally free for adoption, and the placement must be supervised for six months before filing; consent comes from the agency holding parental rights. A child 14 or older must consent unless the court waives it. The court orders a social study and report on the child, the adoptive home and the placement.

A stepparent does not need an agency placement, and the child does not have to be legally free for adoption before filing. The petition can be filed only after the child has lived in the stepparent's home for at least one year (six months if the Department or a licensed agency recommends it). Consent is required from the birth mother and the biological or presumed father; a father who disclaims paternity may sign an affidavit instead, and in some situations involving unmarried parents the court may dispense with the father's consent after a hearing. A death certificate substitutes for the consent of a parent who has died. A social study report is still prepared, and in stepparent cases it must state that the parent whose rights are ending was told of the right to file an affidavit about release of identifying information.