The difference between adoption and foster care

There are some differences between foster care, guardianship and adoption at the legislative level. If this is not important for a child, since he is raised by adults and is surrounded by home love, then for guardians/adoptive parents the difference is significant. Different legal forms make it possible to use some preferences from the state.

Foster family and guardianship: what's the difference?

A foster family is a person who, in accordance with the established procedure, took in a child from an orphanage to raise.
You can only take minors whose parents were deprived of parental rights, died or went missing. An agreement for the provision of services is concluded between the guardianship authorities and the adoptive parents. The contract is of a fixed-term nature and expires when the child turns 18 years old. This does not mean that the relationship between pupils and adoptive parents ends. But legally they become strangers to each other.

Guardianship is established between a child who has lost his biological parents and his other adult relatives. Upon reaching the age of 14, guardianship is established, since children have partial legal capacity.

Who can submit documents to raise a child:

The requirements for a foster family and guardians are approximately the same; you must:

• have a sufficient level of income to support a minor;
• have your own home;
• be healthy enough to fulfill obligations to the child.

Expert opinion

Maria Lokshina

Family law expert since 2010

Foster parents receive a salary for raising other people's children. They are also entitled to various benefits and privileges that are established in a particular region. You can find out about them from specialists in the guardianship department or the social benefits department. All of them are located in the district administration building.

What is the difference between guardianship and adoption of a child in Russia?

Having decided to take a child into the family, people usually wonder which form of arrangement is better to choose - guardianship or adoption. There are fundamental differences between them that future parents need to be aware of.

Guardianship is issued over children under 14 years of age. Priority is given to the child's close relatives. In order to start the procedure, you need to write an application to the guardianship authorities, but first you need to complete special training courses for guardians.

The state helps guardians very well financially, reducing the considerable costs of maintaining a minor. Nevertheless, by accepting a child into the family, the guardian assumes responsibilities for his upbringing and maintenance, becomes the legal representative of his ward, and can protect his rights and interests in any instance.

He also has the right to choose the educational institution where the ward will study, and it is advisable to take into account the opinion of the child himself. Any child can be placed under guardianship, regardless of whether his parents are alive or where they are.

Guardianship is issued for a certain period, during which the biological parents may be restored to their rights or candidates for adoption will appear.

If parents and their ward change their place of residence for some reason, it is necessary to inform the guardianship authorities about this. Once the child turns 14, the guardian automatically becomes a custodian.

If he cannot get along with his ward, the relationship does not work out, he can break the contract, that is, refuse to further fulfill his responsibilities in raising the child, after which they will begin to look for new guardians.

The adoption procedure involves accepting a child into the family as a child. Adoptive parents can give him their last name. They raise the child entirely at their own expense, receiving very few benefits or cash payments from the state.

You can only adopt children whose parents:

• died;
• deprived of parental rights;
• abandoned their child.

In addition, there is such a thing as the secrecy of adoption, protected by law. If adoptive parents take in a child under three years of age, he will consider them as blood and may never know that he was adopted.

Officials involved in completing the procedure do not have the right to disclose information about adopted children and their adoptive parents; this is subject to criminal liability.

The guardianship authorities check the living conditions of the adopted child only for the first three years, after which, if all is well, the checks stop. It is very difficult to abandon an adopted child; to do this you will have to go through another court hearing.

If parents are not confident in their abilities, experts advise first to formalize guardianship of the child, and after some time, having lived together, making sure that everything is in order, you can begin to collect documents for adoption.

The difference between guardianship and trusteeship

The main differences are indicated in the Federal Law “On Guardianship and Trusteeship”. These are similar concepts with no significant differences.

Guardianship and trusteeship involve caring for a minor if:

• biological parents are no longer alive or have been declared missing;
• they are unable to perform their functions due to health conditions;
• they were deprived of parental rights;
• It is planned to establish temporary guardianship.

Guardians are appointed over minors under 14 years of age or over adults who suffer from mental disorders. It is necessary to have a court decision declaring incompetence to be able to establish guardianship. Candidates only from immediate family will be considered. But they can all refuse to perform these duties, since they are assigned voluntarily.

Then a search occurs among other persons who are ready to care for the incapacitated citizen. It is important that guardians are over 18 years of age and have no criminal record. The level of income, availability of your own home, reviews from colleagues and acquaintances, health status and other factors are also additionally taken into account.

Guardianship is established over teenagers from 14 to 18 years old or over adults who have problems with alcohol or drugs. When a child turns 14 years old, there is no need to specifically contact the guardianship authorities to change their legal status.
It changes automatically. A distinctive feature of guardianship is the ability of minors to carry out small everyday transactions.

When they reach 16 years of age, they can live separately from a caregiver. But for this you need to obtain permission from the guardianship department specialists.

Distinctive features of guardianship and adoption

Let's look at the main differences between adoption and guardianship. The information is presented in table form (scrolls horizontally).

How is adoption different from foster care?

It is stated above that a foster family exists on the basis of an agreement. Foster parents are paid a salary for raising a minor. At the same time, the child knows that he was taken into care until he reaches 18 years of age.

If adoption is carried out, then you can keep it secret, in this case:

• the child moves to a new family as a natural child, to whom it is possible to transfer property in the future and who will receive an inheritance after the death of the adoptive parents;
• it is possible to change a minor’s full name in accordance with current laws;
• The registry office issues birth and adoption certificates.

There are several disadvantages of adoption, namely:

• registration takes longer, a court decision is required;
• There are no subsidies from the state when adopting an infant into a family; they are provided only to biological parents;
• It is necessary to have your own home and a sufficient level of income;
• There are restrictions on adoption (it is necessary to obtain consent from relatives, if any).

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Rights and responsibilities of guardians, adoptive parents and foster parents

Regardless of the legal form of adoption of a child, it is necessary to act in his interests.

The Family Code of the Russian Federation states that foster parents, guardians and adoptive parents must:

• ensure the educational process in accordance with current legislation;
• educate a minor in such a way as to ensure his normal physical, spiritual and mental development;
• provide the child with clothing and other items necessary for normal life activities;
• take care of the baby's health;
• represent his interests in government bodies.

For adoptive parents, the child is their own. Guardians are essentially adoptive parents, as their rights are almost the same. The adoptive family can act in the interests of the minor, but transactions with his property cannot be carried out.

Pros and cons of various forms of placement of minor children

Thus, each legal form has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is necessary to choose based on the characteristics of a particular situation.

Difficulty of choice

Comparing the characteristics of registration of rights and obligations to a child through guardianship, foster care, adoption, it becomes obvious that the transfer of guardianship is easier, significantly limiting the powers of an adult both in breadth and time. Adoption, which takes longer to negotiate, however, allows you to recreate the feeling of family and surround you with comprehensive care and love, without fear of negative influence from the outside (for example, from former relatives).

The differences between guardianship and adoption include the following provisions:

• Converging on the main thing - determining the future fate of the child and the person taking responsibility for his well-being, the goals of guardianship are to educate a citizen until adulthood; upon adoption, parents and children become a real family.
• The financial side of the issue during guardianship is coordinated with government agencies, with the expectation of support from the budget, which does not happen with adoption.
• The place of registration of guardianship is a special department under the administration of the territory; adoption will require a court hearing.
• The guardian is controlled by supervisory authorities who have the right at any time to check the situation and living conditions of the ward. For adoptive parents, such controls are provided only for the first time (within 3 years after the trial).

Before you decide to adopt a child, you should consider the option of obtaining temporary guardianship. However, you should be prepared that if there are people who want to adopt a minor, custody of the child may be denied, because it is temporary and requires additional resources from the state.