The Adoption Council of Canada is not an adoption agency. It is an information and referral service. It's role in the process is to make Canadians aware of waiting Canadian children and to make agencies aware of families who are willing to adopt waiting children. The decision on which family a child is to be placed with relies solely on the decision of the child's agency and worker in consultation with the social worker or agency with whom the family is working. The ACC has no role in this process.

Although details vary from agency to agency and province to province, the basic adoption process for domestic adoption in Canada is similar across the country.

If applicants are still interested in proceeding after this meeting, they are asked to complete a formal application. At this point applicants will begin to realize that the adoption process is intrusive. Applicants are asked questions that are very personal and sometimes difficult to answer - questions that most people have never had to think about. A medical exam is also required, with the results sent to the agency. A police check may be required, and references will be asked for, which will be checked.

Some agencies require at this point that applicants take a pre-homestudy (see below) preparation course. The purpose of this course is to allow applicants to better assess their ability to parent the children available for adoption. It is not unusual for families to withdraw from the process at this point, or delay it while they reconsider whether adoption is really for them.

There may be a waiting period before a social worker is able to do an applicant's homestudy. One of the determining factors in how quickly a homestudy is begun is whether the child or children waiting for a family are the types of children the applicants have indicated a willingness to adopt.

People have very different ideas of what a homestudy is. Some think it's just a matter of filling out forms. Others think it is an inspection process. In reality, it's an educational process that allows the adoption agency to assess an applicant's ability to deal with the issues which adoption raises. It helps prepare applicants for the challenges of parenting an adopted child and help them determine if they are ready.

The homestudy usually begins with interviews done separately and with spouses, if applicants are applying as a couple. Initial interviews usually take place at an agency workers' office. This is followed by at least one home visit, where an agency worker meets with other members of an applicant's family. Additionally, group meetings are often held with other prospective adoptive families.

The entire process may take a short period of time or several months, depending on a variety of factors, including worker caseload. Once completed, a report is written and presented to agency personnel for approval. The decision to accept a family for adoption normally does not rest with one individual.

One thing that is required of all applicants is patience. It may take the better part of a year to be approved for adoption. And if, at any time during the process, applicants decide that adoption is not for them, they are free to withdraw.