How do you adopt a child from a foster care home?

Question

My wife and I are considering adopting a 1-3 year old child with down syndrome from a foster home. We do not know the process or which fees to expect (ie therapy fees, misc. medical). We are oblivious! Can anyone shed some light on our situation? Thanks for your time

Answer 1

Call your local DHS office.  They should be able to point you in the right direction.  You'll need to go through their foster/adoption process (I'll elaborate more on that below).  The fees should not be a problem.  The reason for this is #1, adopting through foster care is free in most states, and #2, the child you describe will most likely be allowed a subsidy to cover his/her expenses, and all medical is paid for by the state until the child turns 18.  The reason for this is the state recognizes that most people adopting foster children aren't rich, and money should NOT be a barrier to providing a child with a family.

More on the process:  I don't know what state you're in, but this is an approximation of what we went through (I say an approximation because I always forget something, lol!).  It took us about 8 months from the time we made the first call, until we were approved and began submitting our homestudy for children, but we didn't rush through anything.  

What was required of us was:

A general application (looked like a job application)

Once that was approved, we wrote a book that included my husband's autobiography, my autobiography, our family's story, information about our neighborhood, and something else I can't remember; along with our tax and other financial information.

At some point between receiving and completing the application, we took a class provided by the Special Needs Adoption Coalition (your DHS office provides the class for free; we had three different options for where to take the class, but if you're not in a hurry, and you don't want to travel, your local office should have a class once every three months or so).

After our "book" was approved, we set up an appointment for a homestudy.  This consisted of two visits during which a social worker asked us questions and looked at our house.  She just needed a basic layout of the house, and needed to make sure we have enough room for kids.  Some social workers give homes the "white glove" test, but most don't.  They're not interested in cleanliness as much as safety and just getting to know you in your own environment.

The social worker then took all her notes home and typed up what would become our homestudy.  The social worker at the agency (you'll have a caseworker at DHS instead, probably) then reviewed our homestudy, asked for some minor changes to be made, and then we were done.

Our homestudy was approved and ready to go on October 13, 2006.  We are still waiting, but I think that in most states the wait isn't as long.

If you already have a child in mind, your wait will probably be much shorter, and you'll probably be able to complete the process much, much faster, especially if the child's caseworker knows you're interested and would consider you a resource for this particular child.

I wish you luck!

Answer 2

Hi,

I would love a child with DS as well! If you do not already know of a child available that someone is willing to place with you then you will have a wait. We had tried for so long to adopt special needs (or anything)through the state. You would be better off doing foster care first but the wait for a DS baby will be looooong! Probably near impossible without fostering. Even state adoption is supposed to come with subsidy and medicade but the compition for children is so fierce that many states will not offer a subsity now for children under 12. It is on its way out anyway. Why should the state pay a subsidy to you when family x will take the child without it.

Just so you know, don't be fooled by the waiting children websites. Children stay up there long after they have been placed. Many people I know (including us) have checked on many children, even hundreds is not uncommon, before finally being chosen. You are lucky if you are chosen for any race and most disability child (or sibling group) under 12. The state system if not doing foster care is very difficult.

You can adopt domestically or internationaly for DS children. Costs range from $8,000-$18,000. You would need your own health insurace to cover medial though unless you qualify for SSI (medicade comes with that). Hope this helps.

If you need any more info (as we just adopted private special needs domestic) Email me and I would be happy to put you on the right track. I can fill you in about loans and tax credits as well.

Answer 3

Two great resources for information and support:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/

http://AdoptiveParentsNetwork.com

***Added: Most children who are identified as Special Needs will have an Adoption Support Subsidy (to cover some of the additional costs) as well most children adopted from Foster Care will have Medicaid or State Medical until the age of 18 or 21 with Social Security Disibility services being offered later.....  Adoption of children from Foster Care is generally Free or very low cost.

Answer 4

Everyone advice is good. I prefer the easy way.

Ask the foster parent who has the child to put you in contact with the social worker or case worker for the child.

Good luck

Answer 5

My brother was adopted from a foster home. We talked to a local agency and he was one of the children up for adoption. Talk to an agency and seek their help.

Answer 6

You have to go to an adoption agency and tell them your interested in adopting a child and they will take it from there.Now wait a minute to adopted a child you have to have a clean background and you have to have money in the bank to be able to support this child.

Answer 7

It's hard to say what you need to do. It all depends on the area that you live in. You will probably need to contact your local CPS office and complete an application. It will probably take a long time. You could consider becoming a foster parent. Many times you can specify the type of child that you are looking for and also tell them you would like to foster a child that is available for adoption. Once the child has been with you for awhile, it may be easier to adopt. Also, many states have programs set up that will assist with adoption fees and other expenses if you are willing to adopt a special needs child. Like I said though, your first step is to contact CPS. Good luck and you are wonderful people to consider adopting a child with a disability.

Answer 8

The first step would be to apply through your local children's services agency.  They will certainly guide you through all the legal steps.  As for fees, etc.. that's impossible to predict.  If you adopt a special needs child, which would include children with Downe's Syndrome, you may not have any major fees.  You will be fingerprinted.  There will be a home study to be sure that you are suitable parents, and that your home is suitable.  There will be attorney fees.  However, as I said, the fact that the child has special needs may allow you to have little to no expenses of any great significance.

The most important thing is not the financial aspect.  If you are truly serious about this, you need to learn AHEAD of time what it will be like to raise an adopted child--of any ability.  And, then of course, you will want to learn as much as possible about special needs children.  This is no small undertaking, and requires a level of commitment that is based on knowledge and reality, not fantasy.  So, just do your homework first.  That's my best advice about ANY adoption.