Adoption of a newborn abandoned child from a maternity hospital: features of the procedure and requirements for future parents

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Published: 07/26/2018

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Potential parents of adopted children often express a desire to adopt a newborn child from the maternity hospital. This procedure has its own nuances.

• Legislation
• How to adopt Which maternity hospitals can do this?
• Who can adopt
• Requirements for adoptive parents
• List of documents

Motives for adopting a baby

Babies from maternity hospitals are adopted for various reasons. This is most often done in such situations:

• when a woman wants to get a conscientious objector if she has a serious illness that makes having children impossible;
• if you want to independently raise a worthy person who will take care of his parents in their old age;
• at the request of wealthy people who want to raise their successor, the heir to a cottage or other wealth, etc.

More often, a newborn refuser who does not yet have a good memory or a variety of skills or habits is taken for adoption from a maternity hospital. After all, it is easiest to take a minor citizen under guardianship at a young age. As a result, the baby develops a specific character that the adoptive parents themselves possess.

Requirements for adoptive parents

Only those people who have positive characteristics, stable work and salary, and suitable living space for raising a child can act as adoptive parents.

A special commission in the guardianship and trusteeship authorities will review the package of documents and make a conclusion, which will be transmitted to potential adoptive parents in writing.

Before adopting a child from a maternity hospital, citizens should familiarize themselves with the requirements for candidates.

To obtain permission to adopt, a married couple must:

1. Have consent to adoption.
2. Reach the age of majority.
3. Have a stable income, which in total exceeds the subsistence level.
4. Live in a house or apartment that meets the requirements for space and general condition.
5. Have good health, both physical and psychological.
6. Have no criminal record.
7. Don't have bad habits.
8. Gather relevant documents for the trial.
9. Not a citizen of the United States or other countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
10. Do not be deprived of parental rights, adoptive parents who returned the child or guardians who were deprived of this title.

The requirements for adoptive parents of infants are no different from the requirements for adoptive parents of older children.

Video: Conditions for adopting a child in Russia

Legal regulation

Many childless citizens of the Russian Federation want to become adoptive parents.
However, not everyone can do this. They become an adoptive parent if they meet specific requirements that are enshrined in current Russian legislation. The nuances of adopting a child from a maternity hospital are spelled out in detail in the following regulations:

• Art. 122-144 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation (RF IC);
• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 275 of March 29, 2000;
• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 117 of February 14, 2013

These documents also tell you where to go to adopt a newborn.

Family Code of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 1995 No. 223-FZ

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 29, 2000 No. 275 “On approval of the rules for transferring children for adoption and monitoring the conditions of their life and upbringing in adoptive families on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Rules for registering children who are citizens of the Russian Federation with the consulates of the Russian Federation Federation and adopted by foreign citizens or stateless persons"

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2013 No. 117 “On approval of the list of diseases, in the presence of which a person cannot adopt a child, take him under guardianship (trusteeship), take him into a foster or foster family”

Legislation

Minor orphans are the most vulnerable category of citizens in our country. For this reason, their rights are strictly protected by law.

Art. 124 of the Family Code provides for a priority form of placement for children left without parental care - adoption.

Newborn children abandoned by their mothers in the maternity hospital can be adopted immediately after their birth. To transfer a child to a family, it is necessary to complete all documents in the manner prescribed by Art. 125 SK.

Conditions for adopting an abandoned child

According to Art. 125 of the RF IC, an abandoned child is adopted if the following requirements are met:

1. After the applicant reaches the age of majority - 18 years;
2. If there is a spacious living space with room for 2 people - an adopted child;
3. If you have an official job where you receive a stable monthly income;
4. In the absence of a criminal record;
5. If you have good health and the absence of specific ailments, the list of which is approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 117 of February 14, 2013;
6. If in the past there were no various precedents for alienation of parental rights or early termination of a guardianship agreement;
7. In the absence of American citizenship.

Attention! Only a newborn abandoner who is 16 years or more younger than the adoptive parent is successfully adopted. Otherwise, the applicant is denied adoption of the baby.

Article 125 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation “Procedure for the adoption of a child”

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How to adopt a child: step-by-step instructions

After reviewing the photos of the children and finally being convinced of the correctness of your decision to give a new family to the conscientious objector, you should be patient to go through all stages of the procedure: pre-trial, trial and post-trial.

Pre-trial settlement - how to resolve the issue without the participation of the court and when to go to court if no agreement was reached

The beginning of the pre-trial stage will be the submission of an application to the local authorities for the guardianship and trusteeship of minors (CMC) about the desire to become parents to a baby left without a mother in the maternity ward.

The first step is to collect papers according to the list issued by the guardianship and submit them for consideration. It lasts quite a long time: from the receipt of the certificate of satisfactory condition of the home, the decision will take about two weeks.

Russian laws do not provide for any other way to adopt a child from a maternity hospital. Without a trial, only child custody is possible , but the rights of the guardians will be completely different.

The issuance of a negative opinion by the guardianship means that the guardianship authorities do not consider the applicant a worthy candidate for adoptive parents; the guardianship informs about the decision made and returns the submitted documents.

A negative conclusion can be appealed if the applicant does not agree with the resolution. This is stated in Law No. 48-FZ. It is also worth sending a written request to the leadership of the PLO for an explanation of the resolution it adopted and the possibility of changing it. The period for consideration of such applications is one month.

List of documents to submit to guardianship

Papers required by Article 271 of the Civil Procedure Code to start a guardianship case:

1. statement of desire to become parents of an abandoned baby;
2. brief CV, letter from the employer about the candidate’s personal qualities;
3. certificates confirming a satisfactory state of health, income, and the absence of criminal cases filed against the adoptive parent;
4. confirmation of the availability of your own housing or the right to live in satisfactory conditions;
5. an act recognizing living conditions as suitable for children;
6. evidence that the parents are officially married (if so);
7. consent of the second spouse (if any) for the adopted child, signed by a notary;
8. ID cards of other children in the family (if any);
9. confirmation of completed training for foster parents;
10. other documents at the request of representatives of the PLO (their need should be clarified in advance).

Waiting for a decision

To obtain a conclusion about the satisfactory condition of your housing, you will have to host a commission to assess the living qualities of your apartment. If the conditions are found suitable, a certificate will be issued to the future parents. It will need to be submitted with the general package of documents.

Attention! There is still a visit from a guardianship official. He will also make a conclusion about the sanitary condition of the house and conduct an interview to find out the intentions of the future adoptive parents regarding the adopted baby, the financial stability of the family and the relationships within it.

Acquaintance

A positive response from the OOP to a request for the possibility of adoption means automatic inclusion in the queue; then you just have to wait for a call from an OOP employee. The turn will come, and potential adoptive parents will be invited to the guardianship authorities for a referral to the maternity hospital.

With the referral received, you should go to meet the proposed baby before 10 days have passed. If the health, appearance, and character traits of the newborn are satisfactory, then you should proceed to the legal formalization of the procedure, informing the guardianship authorities of your decision. If something has caused rejection, you need to write a refusal to the OOP, noting why this decision was made, and wait for the next direction.

Jurisdiction. Where to contact?

Having chosen the baby, you will have to begin the judicial registration of the procedure at the place of temporary detention of the baby . The jurisdiction of the applicants is determined by the status of the applicant for guardianship:

• a citizen of the country declares his intention to become the father (or mother) of an abandoned baby in a district or city court;
• a foreigner registering guardianship of a foundling must act according to different rules. His application is sent to the court of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation where the maternity hospital is located. This is defined by Article 269 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Papers for the claim

To open a claim in court, provide two copies of documents similar to those submitted when you first applied for guardianship:

1. application for adoption of a newborn child left without care into the family;
2. a document confirming birth (if necessary, legal registration of marriage);
3. conclusion about the state of health, income, living conditions;
4. a certificate from the guardianship about registration and completion of the adaptation training course in the accepted manner.

For an adoptive parent who is a foreigner or living abroad, the submitted documents should include:

• consent of the foundling’s representative (his function can be assumed by the head physician of the maternity hospital);
• conclusion of the authorized body of your state on the conditions at the place of residence and on the possibility of being a trustee;
• permission for the ward to enter this state for permanent residence;
• consent to visits by guardianship authorities to the child’s new place of residence to monitor compliance with requirements;
• document confirming the obligation to register at the Russian consulate.

Important! You must first translate the submitted documents into Russian and have them certified by a notary.

Proof

The court's resolution is justified and proven, as defined in Article 55 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In the case of placement in a foster family, evidence is the papers provided by the guardian and the confirmation of the OPP that the case under consideration serves the interests of the newborn. The judge examines the evidence provided and makes an informed decision. If the court considers it necessary, it may require additional information from the guardianship authorities.

Drawing up a statement of claim

The rules allow documentation to be handwritten or printed, the required number of copies is two. Mandatory data for it are established by the Civil Procedure Code (Article 270):

1. Full name and place of residence of both parties to the case.
2. Information about the baby’s family, if known, the circumstances of the abandonment.
3. Requests:
   about adoption;
4. about changing the child’s full name and birth details;
5. on the registration of adoptive parents as parents of the baby;
6. justification for the possibility of guardianship.

Reference! If both the husband and wife are ready to make the conscientious objector a member of the family, they can submit a joint application with the details of both.

Time limits for consideration of the case and execution of the court decision

Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that a claim can be pending within eight weeks. Judges usually try to reduce the waiting period as much as possible by tying the hearing date to the closest time the prosecutor will be present at the courthouse. Under favorable circumstances, review takes from 5 to 20 days.

At the meeting, the judge reads out the court decision; it will be fully prepared within five days after its adoption (Article 199 of the Code of Civil Procedure). If no one exercises the right to protest within 10 days, the decision is considered legal.

Article 212 allows for the execution of a resolution to be ordered before it officially comes into force if the new mother and father of the ward consider this to be beneficial for the baby. If delay can cause deterioration in the baby’s health, the matter can be carried out immediately.

Post-trial stage

The court sends a copy of the decision to the local registry office. Based on it, newly appointed trustees can draw up documents for a new family member and take the child home legally.

State duty and expenses for lawyers and attorneys

Article 333.36 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation exempts guardians from paying state fees in adoption cases. As for lawyers, citizens of the Russian Federation do not need them in the legal process.

The court presents a certain difficulty for residents of other countries. In their case, the help of a lawyer is justified. You should first make sure that the lawyer has a license for such activities.

Who is eligible to adopt?

The following citizens of the Russian Federation have the legal right to officially adopt an abandoned child:

• competent adult applicants;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who have any family relationship with the child. If the mother or father refuses, grandparents and other relatives become guardians;
• persons who have successfully passed the medical examination are in good health;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who are provided with housing and have a high official salary.

Important! Adoptive parents who are not officially in a civil marriage also have the legal right to adoption. In this situation, the abandoned child is given to one of the partners.

Benefits for adopted children

When adopting a newborn abandoned child, adoptive parents are paid various child benefits and benefits. Adoptive parents are provided with the following benefits:

1. Maternity benefits are paid. The decree is issued for 70 days (for 1 refusenik) and for 110 days (for several children). In this case, the baby must be less than 3 months old;
2. Sent on leave for 3 years. During the first 1.5 years, child benefits are paid in the amount of 40% of the monthly salary;
3. Issue a certificate for maternity capital;
4. A one-time child benefit is awarded upon adoption;
5. Provide free meals in kindergarten and school;
6. Provide free necessary medications for children under 3 years of age;
7. Compensate for part of the cost of monthly housing and utility bills;
8. They refund 50% of the costs of sending a child to kindergarten.

Attention! According to Art. 12.2 Federal Law No. dated May 19, 1995, the adoptive parent is paid a one-time benefit equal to 8,000 rubles. When adopting an abandoned child aged 7 years or older or with a disability group, as well as children who are each other’s brothers and (or) sisters, 100,000 rubles are transferred to the adoptive parents. for every newborn.

Federal Law of May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ “On state benefits for citizens with children”

Maternal capital

Adoptive parents are also provided with maternity capital. This money is spent in this way:

• improve their living conditions;
• teach children at university;
• increase the size of the adoptive mother's pension.

A certificate for maternity capital is issued upon adoption of 2 or subsequent children. In 2021, maternity capital is equal to 453,026 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

What are the positive aspects of adopting a newborn baby?

• the younger the child is, the faster and easier it is to integrate into a new family;
• The baby will consider the adopted mom and dad as family. If the family did not have experience raising children before adoption, the child’s early age will allow them to experience as many moments as possible during their upbringing, development and maintenance. It is about newborns that the most touching, tender and vivid memories remain;
• if the opinions of others are important to people, then adopting a newborn allows you to arrange everything as if this child is your own, blood. In order to maintain the secrecy of adoption in the interests of the child and adoptive parents, legal norms have been established that provide for liability for the disclosure of information that concerns the procedure itself and the parties involved in it;
• Natural relationships between parents and children are built. Living together from the first days of a child’s life allows you to form relationships gradually;
• parents can fully participate in shaping the character and personal qualities of the child;

  
  In the maternity hospital you can get more reliable information about the child’s parents and their health

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• the opportunity for believers who observe religious rules and prohibitions to accept a newborn into the family, since religious norms prohibit artificial insemination and surrogacy;
• in the maternity hospital where the child was born, you can get more reliable information about his parents (mother), their health, appearance parameters, social status, the nature of the birth, and the course of pregnancy;
• There is no need to retrain the child or change his habits. All educational moments will be made from a “clean slate”.

The negative aspects of adopting a newborn include the following:

• If a child considers his parents to be his family, a situation may occur in the future when he becomes aware of the truth. Such information can ruin the relationship between the adoptive parents and the adopted child. For all parties, such a moment can come as a shock and cause psychological trauma;
• Over time, there is a possibility of genetically acquired diseases and complications developing. Such moments can only be revealed as a person grows older. Also, the adopted child may begin to exhibit negative personality traits and habits inherited from the biological mother and father;
• there is a great demand for abandoned babies under one month of age;
• Most adoptive parents prefer newborn children, especially for families who cannot have their own babies for medical reasons. Thus, such children are always in high demand, and you will have to wait until the candidate’s turn comes.

The Mystery of Adoption

According to Art. 155 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, after accepting an abandoned child into their family, adoptive parents must maintain the secrecy of adoption. Disclosure of such information is punishable as follows:

• fined 80,000 rubles. or the amount of salary for 6 months. as a maximum;
• are required to perform compulsory labor for 360 hours or correctional labor for 1 year;
• sent to prison for 4 months. and are deprived of the right to hold specific positions for a period of up to 3 years or without such deprivation.

The circle of people who are aware of the adoption of a child includes the following citizens of the Russian Federation - employees of the Department of Social Protection of the Population, maternity hospitals, orphanages and court employees. When preventing the disclosure of secret information about a specific adoption, not only the full name of the adopted child is changed, but also his place and birthday.

Moreover, the difference between the fictitious and real dates of birth is 3 months maximum.

Article 155 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Disclosure of the secret of adoption”

Is it possible to adopt directly from the maternity hospital?

Most often, social orphanhood due to the abandonment of blood parents overtakes infants.
The woman in labor, while still in the maternity ward, signs consent for other people to adopt her newborn.

Within three months, the parents (or only the mother, if there is a dash in the “father” column) can change their mind. Then the question is raised about returning the child to the biological family.

If the procedure for legal refusal cannot be followed (the mother in labor leaves the maternity ward without the newborn, and “silently”), the fact of abandonment of the child is confirmed by the administration of the medical institution . If he is found already born (on the threshold of the maternity hospital, in a baby box), then the guardianship or internal affairs authorities draw up an act on the abandoned child.

The cause of true orphanhood is the death of the parents (or only the mother, if paternity has not been established). This problem can also overtake a child in the maternity ward.

From the maternity hospital

A newborn, for one reason or another, deprived of the care of biological parents in the first days of his life, is registered in the registry office - with the name given by the mother or guardianship authority.

The birth certificate is accompanied by a statement of refusal (an abandoned child act, a document on the death of the mother), and a certificate of health.

From the maternity hospital, an orphaned child, with all his documents, is sent to the inpatient department of a children's hospital.

It is almost impossible to have time to adopt a child from the maternity hospital - he stays there for a matter of days, while the legal adoption procedure takes longer.

From the baby's home

At the end of the examination at the hospital, the baby will be taken to an institution for orphans (orphanage). Children live there until they are 3 years old.

There are also those among them that were “not completely abandoned”: women in labor have drawn up documents for the temporary placement of their newborn children in an orphanage.

Such babies will become “refuseniks” after 6 months, if by this time they are not taken into their family without a reason recognized by the court as valid.

The babies end up in the hospital, and then in the orphanage and after being removed from the family by court decision.

Because of paperwork, children sometimes live in the hospital for a long time, so the babies are taken to new families from both state institutions.

There are 2,245 maternity hospitals and maternity wards of hospitals in Russia. Every year, 10-11 thousand parents abandon their newborns, that is, on average, 5 cases per department. But more often than in rural maternity hospitals, women in labor end up in urban maternity hospitals, entrusting the care of the newborn to the state.

Reasons for refusal

A refusal to adopt a newborn abandoner is received in the following situations:

• when the applicant is pregnant at an early age;
• when studying a potential adoptive parent at a university;
• due to the presence of congenital pathologies;
• when identifying a potential adoptive parent with various material or housing problems;
• if you have drug or alcohol addiction.

If the re-adoption is successful, abandoned children are given to a new adoptive family. Moreover, most babies are adopted in the first six months of their life.

As a result, before becoming a guardian of a newborn, you need to know where to start adopting a child who has abandoned the child from the maternity hospital and how this legal procedure proceeds. After studying the above information, this matter will not take much time.

Procedure for adopting a child from an orphanage

The procedure for adopting children from a baby home is similar to the process of adopting from a maternity hospital. Distinctive features are found only at the stage of approval of the candidate by the guardianship authorities.

Visiting the baby's home and finding a suitable baby

When registration is completed, the guardianship authorities provide future parents with information about children who can be adopted and issue a document for visiting the child at the place of residence.

For this purpose, they contact the orphanage to meet the children personally. You can visit such institutions regularly or as part of events held by a children's organization for holidays or charity events.

Such communication will help to allocate one baby for adoption.

For 2 years, a conclusion approving the intention to become an adoptive parent gives the citizen the right to receive information about children who can be taken into the family. Any Russian executive body dealing with the fate of orphans, or the operator of the Ministry of Education and Science will familiarize them with the data bank of orphans, provide complete information about a specific baby (upon application), and direct them to visit them.

Personal acquaintance with the child is mandatory. 10 working days are allotted for this after receiving the referral. A visit to one child (if brothers and sisters are not adopted) is organized by one candidate (one married couple). Impressions from the meeting and its outcome are recorded in writing by representatives of the institution and potential parents.

Applicants receive notifications about changes in the state data bank on orphans on a monthly basis. 15 days are given for face-to-face review of newly received applications, after which they are provided to other candidates.

Application to court and process

When it is finally possible to find a baby, the formalization of the legal relationship between the child and the surrogate parents begins. It is not limited to drawing up an administrative act. State sanction in the form of a court decision is required.

The candidate begins interaction with the court on whose jurisdiction the orphanage or hospital is located. A request for adoption is formalized in an application.

It will take no more than 2 months to consider the case. The court will grant the request or deny it. With a court decision establishing the fact of adoption, the new parent goes to the orphanage and picks up the child himself.

The law prohibits any kind of mediation between guardianship authorities and citizens. Neither the dissemination of information about the child, applicants for the role of parents, nor a medical examination, nor anything else is acceptable, especially the transfer of the child.