Simple adoption, also known as "adoption simple," based on the Napoleonic code; present in some countries in Latin America and former French colonies.
A simple adoption does not lead to a complete dissolution of the ties with the biological family and corresponds most closely to INFORMAL ADOPTION or legal guardianship in the United States. Simple adoption is differentiated from informal adoption in that legal action must be taken to achieve the simple adoption. This and other old approaches are receiving new attention in the United States by some influential people in the field of adoption, notably Reuben Pannor and Annette Baran, who have called for their equivalents to be established in the United States.
Adoption without the termination of parental rights is not a pie-in-the-sky impossible dream. It exists, and not in some remote island nation. It exists right here in the U.S.A.!
Native Americans have long practiced that does not terminate the rights of the original family. In a customary adoption, tribes are allowed to meet the permanency needs of their children while honoring their own tribal values and beliefs.
Customary adoptions may include a ceremony or process, considered by the tribe to be binding, that gives the child a new legally recognized permanent parent while still retaining the birth parents, relatives, and other significant people in the child's kinship network.
Have you seen the M&Ms TV commercial whre the candy sees Santa Claus and says "He does exist!"... well, the model for humane child-centered adoption clearly exists!
