FINALIZING AN ADOPTION
WANT TO ADOPT
Everyone needs to go to a court hearing to finalize an adoption. In Arizona, you can finalize your adoption in the Juvenile Division of the Superior Court. The Court typically holds your final adoption hearing within 60-90 days. The hearing is generally 10-15 minutes long and most judges and commissioners allow you to take photos in the courtroom at the end of the proceedings.
Before the final hearing, the court must receive your post placement social study recommending the adoption. The agency that conducted your initial home study that was used to obtain the Certification to Adopt usually prepares this document. This social study focuses on how you are bonding with your child and meeting the baby’s needs.
Following the final court proceedings, you receive a certified copy of the Order of Adoption. After the adoption is completed, the court sends information about you and the child to the vital records office in the state where the child was born. That office creates a new birth certificate with the child’s new name and you listed as the child’s parent. After you receive the new birth certificate, you may take that certificate and your certified copy of the Order of Adoption to the social security office to request a new social security number for your child.