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10. What are the conditions for an adoption to be granted?
Birth parents have to agree by giving their consent to adopt, unless:
(1) they are dead, in this scenario evidence of their death will have to be provided;
(2) children are wards of the state;
(3) birth parents cannot be found; at which time evidence of attempts made to locate them for example advertisement in the local newspaper must be provided;
(4) birth parents are incapable of giving consent due to mental disability and this must be accompanied by medical evidence.
(5) birth parents are withholding consent unreasonably.
Applicants must be twenty-five years and over, however, if the applicant is related to the child being adopted, they can be under twenty-five (25) years old but over eighteen (18) years. Application should be done by a single person, however, two parents married to each other can adopt with the agreement of the other (singly) and the applicant must be domiciled in Jamaica.
For more detailed information regarding the step-by-step processes involved in treating with adoption visit www.childprotection.gov.jm.