Quebecers who adopt internationally will need to undergo mandatory training as of 2023

Quebec Junior Health Minister Lionel Carmant speaks during a news conference in Montreal, Monday, December 14, 2020, where he presented a report to help fight racism in Quebec. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Starting in 2023, Quebec parents who want to adopt a child internationally will be required to take a preparation program developed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

The first steps international adoption program was launched Monday morning in Montreal by junior health minister Lionel Carmant.

The preparatory course will be done entirely online through a series of nine episodes, including readings, videos and questionnaires, in order to allow prospective parents to follow the training at their own pace.

The program aims not only to equip parents with the intricacies of international adoption but also to allow them to evaluate themselves about the process.

The nine episodes include the basic motivation to adopt a child, the experiences of children in the adoption context, their social-emotional development and risk and protective factors. The episodes also discuss the child's pre-adoption experience and subsequent search for identity.

Other episodes deal with the legal context of international adoption, the process and the decision-making process surrounding it.

In short, this preparation program aims to allow parents to identify their expectations, capacities and limitations, as well as the challenges they will face, and to make them aware of the needs and particularities of an adopted child.

It will become mandatory in early 2023 when the translation of the program into English is completed.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 30, 2022.