Factsheet, Page 3
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ADOPTION PROCEDURES:
There are two types of adoption in Jamaica: Adoption Orders and Adoption Licenses. Adoption Orders provide for the orphan to be adopted in Jamaica. Adoption Licenses allow for a Jamaican citizen orphan to be taken to a “scheduled country” (the United States is a scheduled country) and adopted there. If the child is a grandchild, niece or nephew of the applicant(s), a License is not required, but the adoptive parent(s) must still work through the Adoption Board.
For the License to be issued, the court must be satisfied that the overseas adopter is suitable, in keeping with the requirements of the Adoption Board, that sending the child abroad would be in his or her best interest and that the consent of the child's parent(s) or guardian(s), or any person who has custody of the child, has been given. To determine that the overseas adopter is suitable, the Adoption Board reviews the home study. In most cases, the home study conducted as part of the I-600 or I-600A process will be suitable. The Adoption Board verifies the contents of the home study report by writing to the home study agency to verify its authorship and to obtain the home study agency’s agreement to supervise the placement in the future. Typically, the Adoption Board will require the agency that conducted the home study to submit reports to the Adoption Board on a regular basis for up to two years after the License is issued.
Adoption Orders require a pre-adoption placement. The placement involves Adoption Board supervision of the prospective adoptive child in the prospective adoptive parents’ home, typically for 4 months. This placement must take place in Jamaica. The Adoption Board also conducts a home study during this period. The court issues the Adoption Order when the Adoption Board is satisfied that the pre-adoption placement has gone well and that it is in the best interest of the child to be adopted by the petitioner.
All applications for adoptions of Jamaican children must be made to the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board also identifies children for adoption, so parents interested in adopting a child from Jamaica should contact the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board works with the Child Development Agency, the government entity responsible for the administration of children’s homes. There are both public and private children’s homes in Jamaica.
In Kingston & St. Andrew, Westmoreland, and St. James parishes, special Family Courts exercise jurisdiction over adoptions. In all other parishes, the local Resident Magistrate’s Court supervises adoptions.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN JAMAICA:
To obtain an Adoption License, the adoptive parent(s) must present:
- An application form (available from the Adoption Board);
- A certified original home study plus two copies to be sent directly to the Board by the Department of Health (this can be the same home study conducted in the U.S. for the I-600A or I-600);
- A completed medical examination;
- A letter of undertaking from the agency that conducted the home study agreeing to supervise the placement until the adoption is complete;
- A bank statement;
- Letter(s) from the parent(s)’s employer(s), indicating annual income and the nature of employment.
To obtain an Adoption Order, the adoptive parent(s) must present:
- An application form (available from the Adoption Board);
- A certified original home study plus two copies to be sent directly to the Board by the Department of Health (this can be the same home study conducted in the U.S. for the I-600A or I-600);
- A completed medical examination;
- An income statement;
- Two personal references;
- A letter of undertaking from the agency that conducted the home study to supervise placement.
Credits: U.S. Department of State
