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Hi all. We are a healthy married couple that are hoping to adopt cause we have infertility issues and the husband, Jon, has a criminal record from awhile back. Nothing in the last 6 years. Nothing was violent, just related to larceny and breaking & entering. Will this stop us from adopting since we both love children and want them more than anything? We reside in Michigan and hope for a response soon. THANKS! :D
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In general, social workers often approve homestudies where one spouse did some stupid stuff (DUI, public urination, shoplifting, smoking weed) in his/her late teens or early twenties, or has had some adolescent type psych issues in his/her late teens or early twenties, but has lived a decent, normal life for at least ten years, with no further problems involving crime, substance abuse, suicide attempts, etc. Let's face it, adolescence is often a rough time, and who among us can say that we were perfect angels back then?However, felonies are a whole different matter, and I suspect that your husband's crimes were felonies. In many cases, even non-violent felons will be prohibited from adopting. Research your state's laws on the subject, and talk to some agencies or lawyers to see what they have to say. They "might" be willing to allow someone to adopt if the felony occurred twenty years ago, or something like that, but six years is hardly enough time for most social workers to consider a person as definitely reformed in his/her ways. You should also know that, if there was more than one criminal event, it will look worse than if there was only one.And I must respectfully disagree that expunging criminal records is a good thing to do. First off, expunged records do not disappear completely. As a lot of prospective parents have discovered, expunged records have a disturbing tendency to linger in one data base or another, and to show up suddenly on a fingerprint check or a police clearance. Second, if an expunged record shows up, and the prospective parent has not previously disclosed the arrest/conviction to the homestudy agency, the homestudy is almost certainly going to result in a denial. In many cases, the social workers will think, "If he/she failed to disclose this criminal act because he/she didn't think we'd find out about it, WHAT ELSE is he/she failing to disclose?" And if you are adopting internationally, the USCIS, which has to approve parents to bring an internationally adopted child into the U.S., tends to be even more negative about people who don't disclose criminal records, which subsequently pop up on records checks.Again, I would advise you to check your state's laws and to talk to some homestudy agencies and attorneys. They are in the best position to tell you whether your family is approvable. If you find a homestudy agency that is willing to work with you, be sure to disclose the criminal behaviors fully. The agency will probably want you to get a copy of the arrest records and court documents, showing the nature of the offense and the disposition (prison, fines, community service, or whatever.) It will probably want the offender to write a factual account of what happened and what was learned from the event. That person should not try to make excuses, like, "Everyone did it back then," or "I didn't inhale," or "It was really my cousin's fault; he's the one who asked me to help him break into the neighbor's house." The person should take responsibility for doing something he/she knew was wrong, make sure to indicate that he/she never repeated the offense (if true), and show that the experience taught him some lessons that govern his/her behavior today.Sharon