How much does it cost to adopt a foster child?

Question

Does age matter? What's the youngest a child in foster care can be?

Answer 1

their is no cost involved in FL. In fact we get monthly child support even after the adoption, until they are 18.  Children will be ages 1day old-18yrs in foster care.  The children that are available for adoption will have to have their parents rights terminated, which depending on the situation can be 6 mos - a few years.  The state tries to re-unify the family if at all possible, if not then their rights will be terminated

Answer 2

In Virginia Fostering pays a stipend .

Answer 3

if you live in NEW YORK it costs you nothing and you get paid to have the child children stay with you- (a stipened) foster means you take them and give them back when they must return! so you have to deal with that emotionally! ANy age there is really no choices when you foster it is who needs to be fostered due to not being bale to remain with the parnet or guardian at the moment and more often than not you will end up with more then one child siblings- it takes great committment!

Answer 4

When you adopt a fostot child it is free. You have to pay for the court cost and what ever else you will need to get ready for it. You will also have to pay like a 100.00 for the home study. In the end its the love that you give them. Its roughly 500.00 if that. Good Luck:)

Answer 5

There is no cost money wise unless you count the cost to get your home ready to pass inspection (Fire extinguisher's, fire alarms etc.) You will need to invest allot of time for classes and paperwork.

Kids go into the system at various ages, right from the hospital (newborn) to teenager's.  It's the kids in the middle that keep being overlooked due to everyone wanting to adopt a baby/toddler.  

Good luck.

If you call your local State agency they can give you more information and maybe send you an information packet.

There are also adoption tax benefits and benefits you may qualify for from the State when you adopt.

Answer 6

Most, if not all, adoption related expenses associated with adopting a foster child are reimbursed by the state.

If not quite all the expenses are reimbursed, keep in mind that there is a federal adoption tax credit available & some states also have tax credits available.  For the federal one go to:

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Air...

and check it out.

They have newborns in foster care, however, they have a goal for reuniting birth families as their fist choice.  This takes time.  Some states are better than others about making the time as short as possible.  I'm thinking probably the shortest amount of time a child would be in care before an adoption plan is made (parental rights are severed and the child is legally free for adoption) would be 12-18 months.  With that, the youngest child you'd be able adopt would be 12 to 18 months old assuming the child came into care immediately after birth.

Now...you could certainly foster parent with a goal of adopting.  You will likely have children come into your home for whom parent rights aren't severed & will be returned to their birth family, so you'll have to say goodbye to some children & that risk will always be there.  However, if you have a child you're providing foster care for & the parental rights are terminated & no birth relatives come forward to adopt, then you'd likely be approached about potentially considering adopting that child since you have a relationship already & it would be one less loss for the child to heal from.

I hope this helps!

Answer 7

Foster care children range in age.  They can be newborns; they can be teenagers.  There are some fees associated with all adoption processes, however, using a foster/adopt program, the state or county is able to assist with some of the expenses.  

Good luck to you.

Answer 8

I have adopted 5 children - 4 were foster children and if I remember correctly it was about $15. This was in Massachusetts and the children were in the custody of the Department of Social Services who terminated the children's parental rights.  It is usually minimal and foster families - after relatives, are given first option.  Good luck.

NanaJane

Answer 9

This is the most affordable way to adopt. In many states the process of adopting a foster child can range in cost from free to a couple hundred dollars. There are large tax breaks available for adopting children that can help you pay for a lot of the expenses you incur in preparing for the child's arrival.

The children in foster care range in age from newborn to 18 years old, although you can adopt a person of any age. The younger the age of the child, the more adults their are who are typically interested in adopting them, so typically it is easier to become the adoptive parent of a school aged or older child than it is to adopt a baby.

In some states, you can continue to receive a stipend after the adoption is finalized for any child. In some states, subsidies are only available for certain children. In still other states, I have heard that there are not adoption subsidies for any children.

One important thing to take into consideration, should you decide to adopt from the foster care system, is that not all children in foster care will be placed for adoption. In the majority of cases, the plan is for children enter foster care, stay a while and then return home to their birth parents once the family is more stable. If you take children in whose parental rights have not yet been terminated, there is a good chance you will be separated from them when they return home. In some states, you have the option of only accepting children into your home whose parental rights have been terminated. In other states, this is not an option.