What is the differnce between adoption and intra-family adoption?

Question

What is the differnce between adoption and intra-family adoption?

Answer 1

Adopting is the general term for becoming a legal parent to a child who was not born to you, regardless of whether that child is related or not. Intra-family adoption is a more specific term, indicating a type of adoption when the child is related in some way to one of the parents (usually, but not necessarily related by blood). I do object to one answerer's characterization of non-related adoption as "stranger" adoption. All parents are, in essence, strangers to their children, even those born to them. It takes time to know them, even if you believe in instant bonding. And I assure you that adoptive parents do not feel that they are "strangers." If anything, they believe they were pre-ordained to raise their children because they can't imagine anything else.

Answer 2

I agree with the last answer.  Our child actually went thru both types of adoption, but it wasn't called "intra-family" in the state of NJ.  It was called "kinship program" or "kinship adoption".  

Our situation was somewhat unique.  Because the state took our child from his bio-parents and asked his grandparents to care for him, he was considered in a kinship program.  When the bio-grandparents felt that his medical needs were more than they could handle, the state wanted to put him in foster care, but they wanted to proceed with us adopting him.  Family court allowed the bio-grandparents to adopt him thru kinship adoption and then allowed us to adopt him from them.  As I said, it was a unique situation, but it worked for us.  

Good luck to you if you are adopting!

Answer 3

I agree with the previous answers in explaining the difference.  However, I was no longer a "stranger" to our children's birthmother after we met her, we spent time with her before the birth, and I held her hand as she labored and gave birth to the two babies she was giving to us.

We are in an open adoption with her.  I speak with her on a regular basis.  She sees the children often.  She's like family to us.

Answer 4

I would say that adoption would be adopting someone that has no blood or marital binds to you...adopting your wife's kids from a previous marriage or relationship would be intra-family adoption where as adopting a kid from another country that has absolutely no connection to you at all would be regular adoption.....but that's just guessing by just looking at the wording.

Answer 5

Inter-family adoption is when a family member adopts, but the same requirements are necessary as with a stranger adoption.  When you adopt your spouses children, that's called a step-parent adoption and its a little easier of a process than stranger or Inter-family adoption.

Answer 6

I agree with all these folks before me. It may help to call the latter type of adoption kinship adoption (although still confusingly it includes stepchild adoption). This type of adoption accounts for about half of all adoptions.

Answer 7

Intra family adoption means that the child is adopted by a family member. The child stays within it's birth family. Regular adoption is the child being adopted by people they are not related to. In other words, strangers.