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Grow your family
There are three possible options for you to consider:
Place of saftey
Foster care
Adoption
Place of saftey
- This is the temporary placement of a child in your care
- A place of safety order is generally valid for 7 to 21 days
- Children are usually in transition of some sort
Foster care
- This can be short to medium term in duration.
- Generally, a foster order is valid for 3 years.
- Child may have family attachments of some sort.
- A foster order is reversible.
- Foster placement can lead to adoption if the child is adoptable, and it is your choice to adopt.
- Guardianship remains with the State/Department of Social Development (DSD)
Adoption
- This is permanent in duration.
- When completed, it is recognised as if the child were a biological one.4
- An adopted child is entitled to all the benefits of biological children.
- When completed the adoption facilitates a new birth certificate for the child with the adoptive parent/s named on the certificate.
- Adoption is not reversible.
Application Procedures
General guidelines concerning adoption in Zimbabwe
Application Procedures
- All three options require registration, screening by the Department of Social Development (DSD), and a home visit will be conducted during your application process. All three options also require the submission of the following documents:Zimbabwean I.D. (if applicable),
- Passports (to establish citizenship and residence status),
- Marriage Certificate (where applicable). Please note that traditional marriages can obtain recognition from local magistrates’ courts
- Birth Certificates, courts. Marriages must be at least 2 years old,
- Police clearance.
In addition, you will be required to submit references as follows:
From your doctor to establish reasonable health and that you will be able to provide medical care for the child,
- From a pastor or church leader to establish character/morals etc,
- From people within the community who can recommend you as potential adoptive or foster parents.
General guidelines concerning adoption in Zimbabwe
- All three options are open to Zimbabweans and /or permanent residents of Zimbabwe.
- Foreign and External adoptions are not available at this time unless approved by the Minister.
- Officers of the DSD facilitate all adoptions, without exception. The officers of the DSD are appointed as guardian on matters concerning orphans and vulnerable children.
- Non-Zimbabwean residents are required to seek Ministerial consent to adopt a Zimbabwean child. An International Social Services report will be sought.
- No monies are to exchange hands in the adoptions of Zimbabwean children.
- Single men may not adopt children (especially female children), unless the courts can be satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to warrant such an order.
- The minimum age required to adopt is 25 years, and the applicant must not be less than 21 years older than the child in question (variation may occur in exceptional circumstances).
- All adoptions are to be made in person at the Magistrates Courts.
- These are guidelines and general rules. Most exceptions to these will require Ministerial consent.
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