LGBTQ single people and couples are legally treated just the same as heterosexual singles and couples in New Jersey in agency and foster care adoptions.
One significant issue facing LGBTQ people will be restrictions on adoption based on marital status. Unmarried LGBTQ couples may find that they can only adopt as a couple in some states. Guston & Guston can recommend LGBTQ-friendly states and agencies where you can look for adoption placements if you are not married.
LGBTQ people have continued, even after marriage equality, to face difficulty in obtaining birth certificates for their adopted children. Some states continue to discriminate in issuing birth certificates only to same-sex couples who are married and some resist issuing birth certificates to same-sex couples in all situations. This does not mean a child born in those states has not been legally adopted. Guston & Guston can assist in navigating these difficult situations.
For more information on LGBTQ adoptions, the following organizations have important and interesting information.
Deb Guston is a Fellow of The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA). She is a Member of the National Family Law Advisory Committee of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NFLAC) and a Member of the LGBTQ Family Law Institute, a national organization of family lawyers with extensive experience in LGBTQ family law.
The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
www.adoptionART.org
National Center for Lesbian Rights
http://www.nclrights.org/our-work/family-relationships/
American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbt-rights/lgbt-parenting
GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD)
https://www.glad.org/issues/parenting/
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
https://www.lambdalegal.org/issues/marriage-relationships-and-family-protections