Foster Care and Adoption

Adoption

i. What is it: Adoption is the legal act of entrusting your child to another person/couple to bring him/her up as their own.

ii. To be eligible:

• The child must be a resident of Singapore (i.e. a Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident or Dependant’s Pass holder). A child is not regarded as a resident if the child is residing in Singapore on a visit pass, a student’s pass or a special pass. (see Section 4(7)(a)(b) of the Adoption of Child Act.)
• The child must be below 21 years of age (see Section 3(2) of the Adoption of Child Act.)
• Consent from both parents is needed if the biological father and/or mother is unmarried and below the age of 21 years

iii. Things to note: 

• It is against the law for biological parents to receive payments in return of giving up their child without the court’s approval.
• Teenage mothers must declare the details of the child’s father, and if the father is unknown, to state as unknown.

iv. How does this affect my child?

From the law’s perspective, all legal ties between your child and you will be broken off. The adoptive parent(s) will have all the rights and responsibilities in caring and educating the child.

Once the legal statement is signed and the child is surrendered, there is no “turning back”.

v. Will my child be safe?

Child adoption in Singapore has a strict set of criteria and rules. Anyone who wishes to adopt a child from MSF will need to apply for a Home Study Report, which is conducted by professional social service staff. This is a comprehensive investigation to assess if the potential adoptive parents are ready for to adopt a child. They need to attend a Pre-Adoption Briefing (PAB) to ensure they are prepared and eligible to adopt. The adoptive parents will also be strongly encouraged to attend an Adoption Disclosure workshop.

vi. Other things to note

Placing your child for adoption can be traumatic (Source: Henney, Ayers-Lopez, McRoy, & Grotevant, 2007). You may experience grief, anger and guilt (Source: Child Welfare Information Gateway)

vii. Pre-Adoption Briefing

Attending a Pre-Adoption Briefing (available in 3 languages: English, Mandarin and Malay) is compulsory before identifying a child for adoption and applying for a home study or making an application to the Court. For details on the available briefing sessions, click here. 

Find out more information:

Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Adoption Service
Hotline: 6355 6388 Email: msf_adoption@msf.gov.sg

There are currently four accredited adoption agencies:

1. Touch Family Services Touch Adoption Services
Tel: 6709 8400 Email: adoption@touch.org.sg
Address: 5 Stadium Walk, Leisure Park Kallang #04-05/06, Singapore 397693

2. Fei Yue Community Services Adoption Services
Tel: 6366 4096 Email: adoption@fycs.org
Address: Blk 280 Choa Chu Kang Ave 3, #01-360, Singapore 680280

3. Lutheran Community Care Services (LCCS) Adoption Services
Tel: 6441 3906 Email: adoption@lccs.org.sg
Address: 450 MacPherson Road, Singapore 368170

4. Apkim Centre For Social Services (ACOSS) Adoption Services
Tel: 6295 1011 Email: info@apkim.com
Address: 134 Arab Street, Singapore 199824