Although adoption and foster care have certain similarities, the truth is that they are very different. In both cases it is about giving a family and a home to a minor who does not have one. However, the foster family is temporary, with a more or less prolonged stay until the minor returns to his biological family or is adopted.
In the case of adoption, the child would officially be the son of the adopting person or couple. Although the powers to process an adoption or foster care depend on each autonomous community, the criteria and processes are similar between them.
Once the decision to adopt a child has been made, the adoption application must be submitted to the competent registry of the autonomous community. To obtain the suitability certificate, various assessments are carried out in order to corroborate that the personal, family and economic situation is optimal to give the child a good life. For example, that the couple have sufficient financial resources, stable hours to care for the child, optimal housing, etc.
Future parents must undergo several interviews with the social services in charge of assessing their suitability for adoption, as well as take a training course. Once this procedure has been passed, the certificate of suitability to adopt will be granted or not.
If it is obtained, it is passed to the waiting list, which can last several years. Once the wait is over, it is time for pre-adoptive foster care, which consists of a time spent living with the child to assess whether the situation and relationship are favourable. A judge will be in charge of ratifying the adoption if this phase is passed, from which point the minor would be registered in the Family Book with the surnames of her parents and the adoption would be official and irrevocable.
To be a foster family you must also be over 25 years of age and be 14 years older than the foster child. Likewise, it is necessary to prove the suitability to be a host family. Once the registration is requested in the competent body of the autonomous community, each case is assessed in order to verify that their situation is adequate to properly care for the minor.
They must also attend training talks, take a course and obtain the suitability certificate, which is granted based on the aforementioned assessment. If this is favorable, it is time to register to wait for the assignment of the minor.
