Under the current recognition process, which is governed by the Child Welfare Act, people who are seeking to obtain recognition of their custom adoption to obtain new documentation such as birth certificates and social insurance numbers, find themselves frustrated by procedures and delays. The current process is found to be very involved and bureaucratic. Formal petitions to the Supreme Court must be filed, supporting documentation and affidavits must be developed and filed, social workers must assist in the application process and the Department of Justice lawyers must review them.

This process has been found to overtax resources and lead to a backlog of applications. According to departmental figures, there are currently 1,500 applications waiting to be processed at this time.