How Long Does a Private Adoption Take in Ontario? A Realistic Timeline

If you are thinking about a private domestic adoption, one of your first questions is likely how long it will take. The honest answer is that it varies, and some stages are outside your control.

This article lays out the main stages in order, using the timeframes Ontario publishes. Treat them as general ranges and not promises, and ask a lawyer how they apply to your plans.

What a private domestic adoption is

Ontario recognizes four main types of adoption: public, private domestic, international, and adoption of a stepchild or relative. A private domestic adoption goes through a private adoption agency or an individual licensed by the government. Only a children's aid society or a licensee may place a child for adoption, with limited exceptions such as relatives, parents and stepparents.

Adoptive parents must be Ontario residents and can be a couple or a single person. Ontario says the process can take at least a year and sometimes longer.

Stage one: applying, homestudy and training

You begin by working with a licensee. The SAFE homestudy is mandatory and involves four to six interviews over about four to six months. The 27-hour PRIDE training is also required. For a placement from within Canada, a licensee must notify a Director of the proposed placement and give the Director a report of the homestudy.

• Licensees generally charge $15,000 to $30,000, and the homestudy and parent training cost extra.
• The homestudy and training are a good use of waiting time, so start early.
• Schedule gaps, such as availability of interviews and courses, can stretch the timeline.

Stage two: matching and the adoption plan

The time it takes to be matched with a child in a private adoption is difficult to predict, and it depends on the licensee and on the birth parent's choices. For comparison, in public adoption there is no set waiting period, and matching typically takes six months to two years or longer after approval.

Before a child is placed in a private adoption, the ministry must approve the proposed adoption plan. A birth parent cannot give consent to adoption before the child is seven days old. Before a parent consents, the society or licensee must tell them about the right to withdraw consent, and they must get a chance to seek counselling and independent legal advice.

Stage three: placement, adjustment and the final order

After placement, there is an adjustment period. During the first six months, the practitioner must make at least three visits, and the licensee then submits an adjustment report for ministry approval. Before the hearing, a Director must file a statement based on a report of the child's adjustment in the home.

The statement generally requires that the child has lived with the applicant for at least six months, or two years for a placement that a society or licensee did not make. An application for a child placed by a society or licensee may proceed with less than six months' residence if the Director's statement gives reasons.

Things that can add time

• Withdrawal of consent: a person may withdraw in writing within 21 days of giving it. After that, the court may allow a late withdrawal if it is in the child's best interests, unless the child has been placed and remains with the person they were placed with.
• Dispensed consent: if the court dispensed with a consent under section 181, no order may be made until the appeal period has passed or any appeal has been decided.
• Residence period: if a society or licensee did not make the placement, the Director's statement generally requires that the child has lived with the applicant for two years, not six months.
• Negative statement: a negative Director's statement must be filed and served on the applicant at least 30 days before the hearing.

Once the court makes the order, it is final and irrevocable, subject only to appeals, and no extension of the time to appeal will be granted.

What to do next

• Confirm that you are an Ontario resident and understand which type of adoption fits your family.
• Ask each licensee about its current process, expected timeline and what is included in its charges.
• Book your homestudy interviews and PRIDE training dates as early as you can.
• Plan your finances for the licensee charges and the extra homestudy and training costs.
• Ask a lawyer about consents, the adjustment period and the court step before placement.

Frequently asked questions