Did you know that there are two types of adoption in New Brunswick?

All adoptions in New Brunswick of Canadian born children are regulated by the New Brunswick Family Services Act. Under this Act the two broad categories of adoptions are private and ministerial.

• Private adoptions are where the biological parent(s) know the prospective adoptive parent(s) personally, and they arrange the adoption between themselves.
• A ministerial adoption is where a child, in the care of the Department of Social Development, is adopted by a party that is generally unknown to the biological parent(s).
• Whether the adoption is private or ministerial, the Department of Social Development is still involved in the process. The process includes meeting with a lawyer, taking training, having a home assessment and more. This is with the exception of a spousal adoption, where the biological parent’s spouse adopts the child. For a private adoption one of the first steps you will take is contacting a lawyer to send notice to the Department of Social Development that you plan to adopt the specific child. The biological parents will also need to send notice to the Department of Social Development that they plan to place their child for adoption. These notices initiate the Department of Social Development’s involvement in the adoption. The final step is to make an Application to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an adoption Order. The first step in a ministerial adoption is to contact the Department of Social Development to initiate their involvement. Through this type of adoption you can either opt for infant adoption (under 2 years of age), or child and youth adoption. As indicated on their website, an infant adoption has a wait that is several years long.
• If you are interested in adoption, please contact Mosher Chedore for more information.