For an adoption to take place, the person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specify the persons who are eligible to adopt and the persons who can be adopted. In addition, all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the territories have laws that designate the persons or entities that have the authority to make adoptive placements.