Kimm  0:01  
Hi, this is Kimm Burger, and you are here with Conversations with Kimm. We're going to be talking about adoptions today.

Sarah  0:11  
How does a child become eligible for adoption?

Kimm  0:14  
Well, there are several ways that a child can become available for adoption, there is a voluntary termination of the parental rights, meaning that you agree that it's probably in your best interest for your child to be placed with somebody else. There's also the involuntary termination, which means that the courts have stepped in and said that you're not able to properly care for your children or child. So they terminate your rights.

Sarah  0:40  
What is the adoption process?

Kimm  0:43  
The adoption process is basically you would file a petition for adoption, if there is a voluntary termination, then you would just go into the court, the parent terminating their rights would come in and say that they are voluntarily terminating, terminating their rights, and they would sign the papers and the court would grant that. Now, if there is an involuntary termination or request to involuntary terminate somebody rights, you'd have to go into court and there would be a contested hearing. And you would have to show that one, it's the parent has not substantially complied with a parenting time order or contacted the child or children within a reasonable timeframe, usually two years. That's the basis for that termination. And then the second is that there is not a compliance with a support order or you feel to properly support your child.

Sarah  1:36  
What Can someone do if they're interested in adoption?

Kimm  1:40  
If you are interested, interested in adoption, if you don't know somebody that's willing to do like a direct placement adoption or you're not a step parent, you can always get involved with different organizations, there's Catholic social charities, there's a number of agencies that could help you with a fostering process, you could become a foster parent, and then potentially end up adopting those children that you Foster.

Sarah  2:06  
What programs and services are available, available for those who want to help support children in the area?

Kimm  2:13  
There are a number of different agencies, there are community action agencies, I think they take donations. There are the Kassa, the Kappa there are different organizations to donate to, you know, for Christmas, they have the toys for tots, they have shop with a cop, they have a number of different things that you can help donate to. The biggest thing is just to give your time, a lot of the children that are placed in foster care, that are up for adoption, they just need the parents they need somebody to love them to care for them. And that's what they're seeking. So mainly it's just give up yourself.

Sarah  2:47  
if anyone has any questions about adoption, how can they get in touch with you?

Kimm  2:51  
You can always call my office 5177976021 you can email me at kburgerlaw.com/ or you can go to a website and look at all the information there that is kburgerlaw.com

Sarah  3:05  
Thank you.