Step-Parent Adoption,
Kinship Adoption
Step-parent adoption ensures that the step-parent will have the same rights and responsibilities as the natural parent. In a step-parent adoption, the biological parent retains her rights as birth parent of the child while consenting to the child's adoption by her spouse.
In kinship adoptions, extended family adopt in circumstances where the parents cannot raise their children, either due to death, incarceration, or other reasons. In those situations, the child's parents may agree to the child being adopted by relatives to preserve the child's place in the family.