Free informational clinic on adoption being held

Adopting a child or becoming a step parent can be an overwhelming experience and could undoubtedly leave someone with many questions in need of answers, which is why next week’s Adoption Clinic will be extremely helpful.

The clinic, which is free and open to the public, is being held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on March 17 at the Yuma Justice Center, which is located at 250 W. 2nd Street.

The Yuma County Superior Court developed the clinic in support of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Strategic Agenda to increase access to the courts and is being offered by the Law Library.

Sponsored by Conciliation Court Services, the Yuma County Bar Association and the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, the clinic is one of six public sessions to provide self-represented litigants with information to help them navigate the legal system.

William Kerekes, chief deputy of the civil division of the Yuma County Attorney’s Office and Executive Legal Assistant Delores Smith are the presenters of the forum.

The clinic is designed to give anyone interested in adopting, or learning about what the adoption process entails, an overview of the procedures involved.

Some of the topics to be discussed include: Who can adopt, who can be adopted and what is the adoption certification process?

Yuma County Attorney Jon Smith said what most people may not know is that under Arizona law, county attorney offices are required to perform “uncontested adoptions” free of charge to the adoptive parents. The offices can also do parental terminations if necessary.

“With the right guidance the adoption process can be a lot easier than people think,” Smith said. “It is not difficult to accomplish but it can be time consuming.”

Adoption is the legal process of becoming the parent to a child, Smith said, and any adult, whether married or single, can adopt a child provided they are a resident of the state.

There is also a new law in Arizona that allows nonresidents, such as grandparents, to adopt if they have a child under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court of the state under their care.

Smith also explained that under Arizona law, adoptive parents are indistinguishable from birth parents and the children they adopt essentially become their biological children.

“We want every child in the state to have a forever home,” Smith said.

General questions will be answered following the clinic, but no specific legal advice will be given. An interpreter will also be available for those in attendance who don’t speak English.