If you desire to adopt a child in Mississippi, you will be glad to know that adoption is fairly simple and straightforward in our state. Nor does Mississippi put a lot of restrictions on potential adoptive parents.
For instance, American Adoptions explains that no restrictions apply to any of the following:
- Your marital status
- Your sexual orientation
- Your age, assuming you are an adult
In addition, Mississippi does not automatically disqualify you from adopting a child if you have a felony conviction on your criminal record.
Mississippi’s main concerns about all prospective adoptive parents amount to the following:
- Are you reasonably healthy physically and mentally?
- Do you have the financial wherewithal to provide for your adoptive child?
- Are you an emotionally mature adult?
You can satisfy the first two concerns by providing your social worker with your full-disclosure health and financial records as part of your home study. While the third concern is more difficult to objectively satisfy, your social worker will be looking for such signs of emotional maturity as whether or not you and your spouse, assuming you have one, agree that you want to adopt. (S)he will also look for strong indications that you seem prepared to bring a child into your home and love, nurture and support him or her once there.
Furthermore, (s)he may well ask you questions designed to determine whether or not you have realistic expectations about what parenting involves and understand that parenthood will inevitably entail frustrations and disappointments as well as joy and happiness. In other words, do you seem prepared to handle all the ups and downs of parenthood?