In France, articles 343 et seq. Of the Civil Code govern the conditions of adoption. The law thus provides that may adopt:

• couples who have been married for at least 2 years or for more than 28 years,
• any single person of the same age.

Single people are therefore entitled to initiate an adoption procedure, whether simple or full, on condition that they are 15 years older than the person to be adopted (unless expressly decided by the judge). If, on the surface, French law thus seems rather modern (moving away from the traditional family model consisting of a couple of parents and one or more children), the opening of adoption to single people is actually rather recent. Indeed, it is only with the law of 1966 on full adoption that the texts evolve in favor of single people to reflect in particular, the evolution of the post-war family model.

To complete their adoption plan, the single adopter must take the same steps as any couple wishing to welcome an adopted child. It must therefore, first of all, obtain approval before being able to initiate a national or international procedure.

While approval is generally obtained, the process can become considerably more complex later, depending on the adoption “route” chosen. Thus, according to the French Agency (AFA) for Adoption, single people come up against more than other adopters:

• the “shortage” of children to be adopted,
• the “almost systematic refusal by a large part of the ABOs (Authorized Adoption Bodies) to process their file”,
• very restrictive national laws in the event of adoption abroad. Indeed, the conditions of adoption abroad are governed, for married couples as for single people, by French law, the 1993 Hague Convention, but also the legal provisions of the country of origin of the country. child. However, many foreign national authorities competent in matters of adoption refuse to process the files of unmarried persons. Despite obtaining approval, nothing therefore guarantees adopters undertaking these steps alone that a child will be entrusted to them.

As a result, single people who manage to adopt despite these obstacles are rare. Most often women, they are generally given the children “refused” by adopting couples (over 5 years old, with particularity, disability, etc.).

Beyond the obstacle course that the single adoption procedure represents in itself, single adoptive parents are confronted, once the reception has been granted, to a large number of challenges, which certainly do not relate particularly to their status. marital, but can be all the more difficult to overcome when they are alone. Among them :

• the identity construction of the child who has, in fact, only one referent parent, thus sometimes limiting the interactions and situations allowing the child to identify himself in his relationship with others,
• the very nature of the relationship with the adoptive parent which in essence is more at risk of being exclusive, fusional,
• exercise of parental authority, which may be more complex to legitimize in an adopted child, especially if the reception is late, and all the more difficult if the parent is alone to exercise it on a child who is struggling to accept it.
• the societal and material weight of an adoption which often involve for the single parent to accompany, to educate and to offer love to a child in a model which is not that socially accepted and which can prove to be heavy to bear.

Faced with these issues, adoption professionals advise single adoptive parents to surround themselves, perhaps even more so than married couples. The key, according to them, to a successful adoption in France and solo: knowing how to ensure relational, emotional and material support. Family, friends, adoption professionals or associations are all key elements in supporting adopters in their often grueling procedures and their daily lives which are sometimes more difficult than expected. Thanks to their support, the adoption, even if it is carried out as a single person, is not then carried out alone.

Adoption in Canada is a territorial and provincial jurisdiction. Thus, if adoption by a single person is commonly accepted in the country, certain procedural subtleties may appear depending on the territory. It is therefore advisable to turn to the competent local authorities to find out the specifics.