Adopting a child from foster care is a profoundly rewarding path to expand your family while offering a loving and stable home to a child in need. Currently, over 117,000 children and teenagers in foster care are waiting for the security and love that a permanent family provides.
To gain a deeper understanding of foster care and adoption, explore our brief, interactive modules. Learn more about the children awaiting families and the types of families they need through our interactive guide.
Understanding Children in Foster Care
Children enter foster care due to circumstances beyond their control. They are placed in temporary state custody because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Foster care provides a safe haven while their biological parents are given the opportunity to address issues and complete services that may enable the children to return home, if deemed to be in the children’s best interest.
Slightly over half of children in foster care are eventually reunited with their birth families. For those children whose parental rights are terminated and become available for adoption, many find permanent homes with relatives or their foster parents. This transition to adoption from foster care, often referred to as Foster Family Adoption, is a significant pathway to permanency for many children.
The Foster Care Adoption Process
Adopting a child from foster care shares similarities with other adoption methods – it involves decision-making, paperwork, and preparation, ultimately culminating in the realization of a family’s dream. However, foster care adoptions, particularly foster family adoptions, have distinct characteristics:
- While infant adoption from foster care is possible, the majority of children awaiting adoption range from toddlers to young adults up to age 21. The median age of children in foster care is eight years old, highlighting the need for families open to adopting older children.
- Every child in foster care has experienced some level of trauma. Consequently, prospective foster parents who are considering foster family adoption receive specialized trauma-informed training to understand the impacts of trauma and learn strategies to support children’s healing journeys. This training is crucial for creating a nurturing and understanding adoptive home.
- Foster family adoptions usually involve collaboration with a public child welfare agency or a private agency contracted by the state. These agencies provide support and guidance throughout the foster adoption process.
- One of the most significant advantages of foster family adoption is the minimal to no cost associated with it. This removes a major financial barrier for many families considering adoption.
For comprehensive information on various adoption paths, refer to Adoption Options: Where Do I Start? (321 KB PDF) available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website. Additionally, gain insights from child welfare professionals in “Caseworkers Weigh In: Advice to Prospective Parents,” an insightful article on our blog.
The Benefits of Fostering to Adopt
An increasing number of states recognize foster care and adoption as a continuum and are implementing policies that encourage families considering adoption to first become foster parents. Some states even mandate foster parent training and approval for families intending to adopt. This approach, often leading to foster family adoption, offers numerous advantages:
- Aspiring parents eager to share their love and provide care can begin their parenting journey sooner while awaiting an adoption match. Fostering provides an immediate opportunity to nurture and support children.
- Fostering allows both the prospective parents and the children placed in their care to determine if a strong, lasting bond can develop. This trial period is invaluable in ensuring a successful and permanent placement through foster family adoption.
- Families have the opportunity to parent children across a wide age range, from infancy to young adulthood (up to 21 years old), broadening their experience and potentially identifying the age group best suited for their family.
- Fostering reduces the number of transitions for children. By fostering with the potential for adoption, children experience greater stability and fewer disruptions in their lives.
- When foster parents are also licensed for adoption, and a foster child becomes eligible for adoption, the child can often transition into foster family adoption within their existing foster home. This significantly shortens the waiting time for finalization and minimizes further upheaval for the child.
- Fostering facilitates the development of strong bonds between the child and the foster family, laying the foundation for a successful foster family adoption.
- Foster parenting provides invaluable experience, particularly in parenting children who have experienced trauma. This experience equips parents with the skills and understanding necessary for effective foster family adoption.
- Foster parents gain firsthand insight into a child’s specific needs, enabling them to effectively advocate for and negotiate appropriate adoption assistance to support the child’s well-being post-adoption.
- Successful foster parenting demonstrates a prospective adoptive family’s suitability and capability for a permanent adoptive placement, strengthening their profile for foster family adoption.
- Foster parents can cultivate relationships with a child’s biological family members, which can be sustained even after the foster family adoption is finalized, promoting a broader support network for the child.
It’s crucial to remember that even when foster family adoption is the ultimate goal, foster parents must actively support reunification efforts with a child’s birth parents as long as reunification remains the primary permanency plan, as determined by the court and child welfare agency.
Foster parents must be prepared for the possibility, however challenging, that a child they hoped to adopt might be reunited with their biological family or placed with relatives. This possibility is usually determined before the placement is designated as adoption. This “concurrent planning” approach means that while reunification is actively pursued, an alternative permanency plan – often foster family adoption – is also in progress, ready to be implemented if reunification is not successful.
Common Questions About Foster Family Adoption
AdoptUSKids foster care and adoption specialists address numerous inquiries about foster care and adoption. Our active online community also provides a platform for families to exchange information and support on our Facebook page.
Below are answers to some frequently asked questions concerning adoption and foster care, particularly relevant to those considering foster family adoption.
If my primary goal is adoption, why should I become a licensed foster parent?
There are several compelling reasons to pursue foster care licensing even when your main intention is foster family adoption:
- Your state may require “dual licensing,” meaning you must be approved for both foster care and adoption to proceed with foster family adoption.
- Even if dual licensing isn’t mandatory initially, most states require foster care approval before a child is placed in your home for the purpose of foster family adoption. Being pre-approved for foster care eliminates delays in placement by avoiding additional paperwork and processes when a potential match is identified.
- Dual licensing can enhance your family’s appeal as a placement option, particularly when considering adopting a child from another state. It streamlines the interstate placement process for foster family adoption by pre-completing necessary approvals.
- Children placed in your home through foster care receive ongoing financial support to meet their needs. Maintaining foster care licensure ensures uninterrupted financial assistance while transitioning to foster family adoption and accessing potential post-adoption support.
If I am dually licensed for foster care and adoption, am I obligated to foster children with reunification as the goal, even if I want foster family adoption?
No. Child welfare agencies prioritize placements that are mutually agreed upon. It is not in the best interest of either the family or the child to force a foster placement when the family’s goal is foster family adoption and they are not prepared for reunification efforts.
However, there are situations where your caseworker might ask you to consider a foster placement, even with your focus on foster family adoption. Open communication with your caseworker is crucial to understanding these requests and making informed decisions that align with your family’s capabilities and the child’s needs.
- You might be asked to consider a “legal-risk placement.” This occurs when one biological parent’s rights have been terminated, and the agency anticipates the termination of the other parent’s rights, making foster family adoption a highly likely outcome. Foster care approval facilitates a smoother and faster transition to foster family adoption in such cases.
- If your family has limited parenting experience, your caseworker might recommend fostering to gain a deeper understanding of the rewards and challenges of parenting, especially children who have experienced trauma. This experience is invaluable preparation for foster family adoption.
What are the steps involved in adopting a child from foster care across state lines?
Interstate foster family adoptions are governed by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), an agreement among all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. ICPC ensures children placed across state lines are placed in safe, suitable homes with qualified caregivers, facilitating responsible foster family adoption across state borders.
Interstate adoptions require additional procedures, paperwork, and communication between courts and child welfare systems in different states. NEICE (National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise), a new electronic data exchange system launched in 2013, is streamlining interstate placements and reducing the time required for foster family adoption across state lines. Learn more about NEICE and ICPC on the website of the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
While interstate foster family adoption involves extra steps, families successfully adopt children across state lines regularly. Read inspiring stories on our blog.
What support services are available for foster and adoptive families?
Financial assistance is available to cover most or all costs associated with foster family adoption and to address children’s medical and mental health needs. Respite care, offering temporary childcare for parental breaks, and local and online support groups are additional resources for foster and adoptive families. Explore further information about support for foster parents and support for adoptive parents.
Can you provide information on international adoption?
AdoptUSKids is dedicated to supporting the adoption of children from the US foster care system, including foster family adoption. For information on international adoption, please visit the US Department of State’s Intercountry Adoption website.
Take the Next Steps
If you’re interested in learning more about foster family adoption, explore the resources and links provided throughout this article. Consider contacting your local foster care agency to begin your journey of building a family through foster care adoption.
