Prospective adoptive parents must be carefully screened and give a lot of information about themselves before they can be approved to adopt a child. Social workers visit their homes several times. Adoptive parents provide personal references and they usually undergo a background check to be sure they haven�t hurt children.

They also learn about becoming an adoptive parent before the adoption. By the time an agency has approved adoptive parents, they have gotten to know them well and feel confident they�ll make good parents. That doesn�t mean they�ll be perfect parents, but usually they�re good people who really want to care for children.