Adoption Through Foster Care

Are you considering adoption through foster care? There are some things you need to know including some time saving tips for foster parents.

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When parents decide it is time to adopt, they often turn to the avenue of fostering to adopt to avoid the expense of private adoption or international adoption. However, adoption through foster care has its own set of expenses that are not monetary.

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What is adoption through foster care?

Adopting a child or children through foster care means you are adopting a child in foster care whose biological parents’ rights have been terminated by the court.

What is a straight adoption from foster care?

It is possible to do a “straight” adoption from foster care, meaning the adoptive parents were not first foster parents. However, most states require that the adoptive parent are approved as foster parents before they can adopt a child in that state’s foster care system.

What is foster-to-adopt?

Families who become foster parents and foster a child that they later adopting are also pursuing a form of foster parent adoption called foster-to-adopt.

How hard is it to adopt through foster care?

Of the different types of adoption, the foster care system is currently the most popular way adopting a child, and adoption usually occurs through the foster-to-adopt method.

Is it free to adopt through the foster care system?

Adoption through the foster care systems costs significantly less than any of the other avenues of adoption. In fact adoption through foster care is usually free to the adoptive parents.

Most foster and adoptive parents also receive a monthly stipend to help cover the costs of raising the child, and this adoption subsidy may increase depending on any special needs the child has.

How much does it cost to adopt through foster care?

If the adoptive parents do incur costs in adoption a child from the foster care system, those costs are usually minimal and might include:

Home Study – Every adoptive family requires a home study, which proves to the state that your family is ready to adopt a child. Some states cover the home study costs for families.
Home Preparations – The home visit portion of the home study may indicate some troublesome areas in your home that need to be addressed, such as locks on cabinets or padding on sharp corners and edges.
Minimal Legal Costs – In many states, the adoptive families’ legal fees will be paid for by the state. If the adoptive family is required to pay legal fees, they are oftentimes negligible.

Can I adopt more than one child through foster care?

For many children in foster care, their brother or sister has been the only constant presence in their lives. A brother or sister may be the only person who understands and shares their experiences and can help them make sense of their new lives. For this reason, adoption of sibling groups through foster care is encouraged.

Parents to want to adopt through foster care can also foster to adopt more than one time and adopt children who are not biological siblings.