The family is the first environment for human life. Properly functioning gives support and safety. It is a place for human development and for developing relations between loved ones. Although the adoptive family is not the first, biological form, it can successfully fulfil the functions assigned to the family, give support, warmth and love. This article is an attempt to describe adoption in modern Poland. The authors start with a description of adoption and its types. Then they present the way to become an adoptive family, taking into account the legal aspects of adoption. They also discuss the important aspect of openness in adoption, and therefore the situation of revealing the truth to the child and its closest environment. The article ends with a description of forms of support for adoptive families.