How Does Adoption From Foster Care Work?
The primary goal of foster care is
reunification with the birth family.
It is important to understand that adoption is never the goal or a guaranteed outcome of fostering. You should not enter fostering with the hope of adopting a child placed with you; however, there are kids in foster care who are currently eligible to be adopted.
A child in foster care is under state guardianship and may become eligible for adoption if the plan for reunification is not able to be fulfilled and parental rights have been terminated.
State foster care agencies are not adoption agencies, but they will facilitate adoption when needed for a child in their care. They will not certify a family for adoption out of their service area or from another state. They will, however, train and certify a family for foster-to-adopt purposes if the family has been selected to move forward with a specific child or sibling group in their custody who is waiting for an adoptive home.
If you are interested in adopting a youth outside of your county, you should look for a certified placement agency (sometimes also called a licensed child placement agency) or a private adoption agency to support you in reaching out to the state agency/caseworker for the youth you are interested in learning more about.
If you go this route, you will work with two agencies: the one in your area that does your home study and the agency for the potential youth.
When children are removed from their home, they are also removed from the people, places and cultures in which they are familiar. This can be as traumatic as the abuse and neglect they experience in their homes. Keeping kids local – in their same town, community, school – can greatly reduce the trauma they experience from their time in foster care. When there are more than enough foster parents available in every community, it increases the chances that the child will be able to be placed locally. In many states, placing children locally is a practice indicator. The higher the percentage of kids placed locally (generally defined as placed in the county in which they reside) the better outcomes we see for the children.
Since reunification is always the goal in foster care, it’s important to use the right terminology to describe foster care. Potential foster parents should understand that while adoption may be an option, it should never be an expectation for the end of a fostering journey. Children are only available for adoption once the parental rights have been terminated (TPR).
Potential foster parents who are only interested in adoption should inquire about Waiting Children, or children who are legally free for adoption. This is generally a separate program from becoming a foster parent.
A home study is a thorough evaluation of a potential adoptive home intended to confirm a good match between the foster family and the child.
The thought of a home study often brings anxiety for potential parents. It’s important to remember that social workers are not looking for perfect homes but homes that are safe and ready.
Your home study will include:
- Home Inspection:
The social worker will inspect the home for safety, cleanliness, and adequate space for the child, including a separate bedroom and bathroom. - Interviews:
The parents will be interviewed to assess their parenting abilities, motivations for becoming foster parents, and understanding of foster care. - Background Checks/Fingerprinting:
Criminal and abuse/neglect records checks are conducted on all adult residents of the home. - Document Review:
Financial information, proof of income, health records, and other relevant documents will be reviewed. - Assessing Parenting Knowledge and Readiness:
The study will assess the parents’ knowledge of child development, trauma-informed care, and their ability to handle challenging situations. - Checking You Have a Support System:
The family’s support system, including family and friends, will be assessed. - Child-Proofed Home:
Secure medications, cleaning supplies, and other potentially dangerous items. - Looking for Emergency Preparedness:
Have a fire alarm system, an emergency plan, and emergency exits marked.
- Siblings who want and need to remain together
- Adolescents who have been in foster care for several years before parental rights were terminated, and they become eligible for adoption
- Children who are medically fragile or have developmental disabilities
- Children born exposed to alcohol and other drugs
- Children returned to foster care after being relinquished by an adoptive family due to lack of diligence in the placement considerations
Permanency options include reunification, guardianship, and adoption. AKB does not have the authority to make the decisions for a child’s future and recognizes that what is best for one youth is not what may be best for the next.
Needs and situations vary based on the specific circumstances of the case, and the youth’s team will decide what is best for the child based on all the complexities behind the scenes. Some youth choose not to be adopted, and guardianship seems less formal to them. In contrast, some don’t feel guardianship feels “permanent” and they would prefer to be adopted.
What is the difference between guardianship and adoption?
What differentiates a guardianship from an adoption is that a guardianship situation does not need to terminate a child’s legal relationship to his or her parents. Adoption severs the previous legal parent-child relationship and creates a new legal parent-child relationship between the child and adoptive parent (however, most often those ties have already been severed by the termination of parental rights). They both meet the same goal: to find a solid, safe, stable environment for the youth. They are both legal processes and in both situations, the adults are responsible for caring for the child/youth and meeting their needs.
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, guardianship can be particularly suited to the permanency needs of an older child under the following circumstances:
- The child has been in a stable placement with the caregiver for a period of time.
- The child is unwilling to be adopted.
- Parental rights cannot be terminated.
- The child continues to benefit from the relationship with the birth family.
- The caregiver is able and willing to provide a permanent home for the child but is unwilling or unable to adopt the child.
Reunification, guardianship, and adoption all have their places in these complex situations. Yes, reunification is best when it’s safe and viable. When that is not an option, guardianship and adoption would both be options, and we cannot put a blanket statement over which one is better for every situation.
When kids enter foster care they suffer great loss. If they are placed for adoption the priority is to avoid additional losses, so when possible the priority is to place a child in proximity to siblings (if they’re not being placed together), other extended family members, and other healthy relationships in their lives.
The youth’s team will have final say as to whether it is best for a youth to leave their current community. If the potential adoptive home is a wonderful match and options are not available in the child’s community, then the team may decide to approve moving the child to another state.
A child is placed in foster or kinship care when his or her parents are unable to provide basic needs and a safe environment. Many of these kids have been abused or neglected, and often faced severe trauma leading to high emotional needs. Kids can be resilient, even facing such challenges. They often still can reach their potential when cared for by a loving and committed family and other supportive people.
Careful decision making is required both by the child’s professional team and the family to ensure a successful adoption. When a potential adoptive family is identified myriad factors must be weighed in making a permanent placement decision. The child’s history, specific needs and best interests must be carefully considered alongside information about the potential family. The youth’s team and the court hold decision-making responsibility regarding permanent placement. The level of input by the child will depend upon his or her age and level of comprehension.
All the videos shared on our I Belong Project video gallery are for children in foster care who are eligible for adoption. Before submitting an inquiry, it’s important to have a completed home study, as most caseworkers will not consider inquiries that are not “home study ready.” (Explore Foster Care Resources In Your State to attend an information meeting and find an agency with which to begin your home study process.)
Note: While we advocate for adoption-eligible kids in foster care through our I Belong Project, America’s Kids Belong is not a placement agency. Inquiries made on the kids through our site are redirected to our state child-welfare partners. We have no control or authority over children’s cases or placements. Our goal is to support permanency through videos that display a child’s personality and are proven to help with recruitment.
Our role at AKB begins and ends with filming these children and sharing their stories. The rest is up to the child’s team.
I Belong Project is a registered trademark of America’s Kids Belong.
