Adoption has a long history dating back to ancient times but was slow to be recognized in common law, with statutes first passed in the late 1800s focused on the child's welfare. The adoption process in Washington State is now statutory and requires strict compliance, involving home studies, consent forms, notices, hearings, and establishing a legal parent-child relationship that terminates the adoptee's rights to birth parents. The adoption process can be either through a private adoption or a state-licensed child-placing agency.
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