Adoption agency

Adoption placement is an independent service of youth welfare. The aim of adoption is to find the most suitable parents for a child who, for various reasons, cannot grow up with his or her birth parents. The best interests of the child are at the centre of all the adoption agency's efforts.

The adoption agency therefore very carefully checks the suitability of potential adoptive parents. This includes, for example, the motives for adoption, the stability of the partnership or health aspects.

According to German law, persons who wish to adopt a child must have full legal capacity and be at least 25 years old. In the case of married couples, one partner may be under this age, but must be at least 21 years old. A maximum age for adoptive parents is not set by law. However, their age should be at a natural distance from the age of the child.

Married couples can only adopt jointly, regardless of gender. By way of stepchild adoption, the child of the partner can also be adopted if they live in a stable partnership.

As a rule, the natural parents must both consent to the adoption of their child.

In order to ensure that the adoption is successful and primarily serves the best interests of the child, an open approach to the subject of adoption is necessary when the child is growing up. This requires the understanding that the child's origin and life history must be integrated into family life and that the special features resulting from adoption must be acknowledged. For this reason, the adoptive applicants are advised and accompanied by the adoption agency before, during and after an adoption.