The Shai Cooper Act and Relative Adoption in Oklahoma

Thanks to a new law, it’s now easier to adopt a relative’s child in Oklahoma. You no longer need a preplacement home study.

Many people in Oklahoma want to adopt their relatives’ children. However, the process of adoption has long been costly and cumbersome. One of the biggest costs of adoption is the “home study” – a process in which a professional performs an assessment of the parents’ home. The home study can take several months to complete, and the adoptive parents must pay the professional’s fees.

However, last year, the state legislature passed a new law (the “Shai Cooper Act”) that makes relative adoption easier. This law says that no preplacement home study is necessary if:

·         The parent seeking to adopt the child is:

o   a brother,

o   sister,

o   grandparent,

o   aunt, or

o   uncle of the child, or

o   a spouse a brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the child)

AND

·         The relative seeking to adopt the child has no record of

o   Felony conviction

o   Conviction or adjudication in juvenile court for child abuse or neglect or domestic violence, or

o   Protective order issued against the adoptive parent.

If you’re seeking to adopt a child, and you fulfill those qualifications, you don’t need a preplacement home study.

The Shai Cooper Act is named after Shai Cooper, who was adopted by a relative, and is a constituent of the legislator who introduced the bill.

In last week’s post I explained how the law does not require home studies in stepparent adoptions. The Shai Cooper Act places relatives in the exact same position as stepparents, when it comes to waiving home studies.

Are you seeking to adopt a relative? Contact the Persaud Law Office

At the Persaud Law Office, we’ve handled many relative adoptions. We had to handle relative adoptions before the Shai Cooper Act came into force, and we remember the difficulty of families having to go through a home study. The Shai Cooper Act will make relative adoption easier for both clients and their lawyers.

If you are interested in adopting a relative, we’re ready to help you. Contact the Persaud Law Office today.

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Reproduced from the Oklahoma House of Representatives website on April 8, 2026. Neither the Persaud Law Office nor the information, as it is presented on the Persaud Law Office's web site, is endorsed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.