Adopting a child is a life-long commitment which requires intelligence, kindness, warmth, patience, and - most importantly - love.

Today, in the first of a three-part series, The Royal Gazette examines the local infrastructure for adopting children.

In a small community like Bermuda, an already important, emotional and complicated choice, can carry additional concerns with regard to dealing with the child's natural family, The Royal Gazette was told.

And laws governing adoption make the process complicated and time consuming.

Nevertheless, the number of adoptions occurring in recent years is on the increase. Bermudian residents are looking to bring both local children and, those from overseas in need of stable homes, into their families.

The Department of Child and Family Services offers both assistance and counselling for those who are considering these important alternatives. The reasons would-be parents seek adoption vary from the obvious - infertility - to the intensely private but in all cases adoptive parents say the rewards are greater than they could have possibly imagined.

Social workers are united in their belief the most important qualities adoptive parents offer are commitment and patience, however, as adoption is a long process not to be taken lightly.

In most cases of local adoption children are originally taken into a new family under the foster care system.

“Last year we had eight cases where foster parents who had the children almost from birth were granted permission to adopt,” said Glenda Edwards, Director of Child and Family Services. “That is the highest number we've ever had.”

Sadly, many of these children were taken from drug-addicted mothers. Very few Bermudian mothers voluntarily place their children for adoption, although CFS reports there was one case last year.

“It is very, very rare for a woman to approach our department about adoption before giving birth,” Ms Edwards said.

Generally, parents hoping to adopt approach CFS and are screened as potential foster parents.

Many will take children into their homes, almost from birth, without knowing whether they will be granted permission to raise the child.

“They are screened to become foster parents and then they go through a longer, more in-depth evaluation - from outside the department to ensure the assessment is fair - to adopt,” said Carolyne Webbe, a social worker who overseas all local adoptions.

At the bare minimum, those considering adopting locally can expect a year-long waiting process, The Royal Gazette was told.

But social workers hope a new act on adoption, planned for the next legislative session, will streamline the process and make it easier to help children desperately in need of homes.

“At the moment the Acts don't tie up,” Ms Edwards explained.

Legally adopting a child is a complicated process governed by a number of different laws.

As a result the adoption process can get bogged down in court for years while children linger in the foster care system.

“It can be psychologically wearing for the adoptive parents and for the child,” said Elaine Charles, who handles the court cases for Child and Family Services. And judges still tend to lean towards natural relatives as opposed to non-biological caregivers.

The long process of releasing a child for adoption has meant that some children reach school age before they can be placed in a stable home.

Children must be listed on an adoption register for at least three months, and become a ward of a court guardian - Ms Charles - for an additional six months before they can be considered for permanent placements. And ultimately, the decision on whether to free a child for adoption comes from the court however.

“We make a recommendation and they decide,” Ms Charles said.

Despite all the hurdles, over 20 local children were placed for adoption last year and a handful more are still working their way through the system. While only Bermudian couples can adopt local children, the CFS department also offers a screening service to help residents hoping to adopt children from overseas.

Tomorrow, The Royal Gazette speaks with a couple that adopted a child from Colombia about their decision to grow their family. And Wednesday, a single mother shares her story of adopting two local children.