What is the difference between public and private adoptions?
Adoptions can either happen through a county department of children and family services or through a private agency. Private agencies handle most international and domestic infant adoptions and mostly deal with birthparents who voluntarily relinquish rights to the child. The public agencies are responsible for adoption and foster care for children whose parents’ rights have been involuntarily severed through the courts. There are no direct costs for public adoption, and some Ohio counties (like Cuyahoga) provide a monthly subsidy for some children adopted from the public system. Private adoptions almost always include substantial fees.
