IF there are so many kids in foster care, why would someone be on a waiting list for over a 1.5 yrs?

Question

it seems to me that with all the kids in foster care, that it wouldn't take too long to have a child placed with them. or is the process that long?

Answer 1

I suppose even people who adopt from the FC can sometimes be picky. There are a lot of siblings groups that are available for adoption, kids with special needs mental retardation, CP, serious emotional issues etc.  They also have to have a match for the kids, like some kids profile I have read on State websites says some will do better as an only child, or  other kids in household must be a certain age. Some they feel might even do better in a single-parent home. They want a good fit both for the kids and parents looking to adop.  Obviously with legal things that have to take place red tape that can also take some time I would imagine.

My family didn’t official adopt me until I was 3 years old, yet I entered into their home as a foster child when I was 3 weeks old.  I even had to be adopted threw 2 states, I was born in Georgia, but we later moved to Ohio where dad was sent to serve his last military term, they had to get permission to take me, dad went to Ohio a few months before they got the Ok to take me there. So that might have been why it took quite a bit longer then would have been typical least in my situation.

Answer 2

Depends on why the kids are there. If the state takes them away it takes a little longer because the parents rights have to be terminated. If the rights arent terminated they cant be adopted out, even if they are in foster care for protective purposes. And, there are a lot of kids in foster care and most homes are preferring kids under 1 years of age, so if they dont get the child until 7 mos. it takes too long to get the kids parents rights terminated.

Answer 3

We waited thirteen months. It was only till we accepted a newborn with down syndrome, who needs to undergo heart surgery, that we were needed. He may go back to his family and we are completely aware of that. He is a foster-adopt placement because the social worker perceives his family is unable to care for him adequately.

My friend who has been a foster parent for over ten years has not had a placement in over eight months! Many families today are opting for kinship care. Since they are now eligible to receive the same benefits as foster parents it makes this an ideal option for the child.

Why it is true there are large amounts of children in the foster care system there is a large group being cared for by relatives.

For the record we made no special requests for any specific child.

Answer 4

My husband and I sent many emails and left many messages; since the beginning of this year and we just received a call out of the blue. This was through DCFS in Will county IL. We are just now getting am informational package. I am sure the workers are very busy and under paid, but I was shocked at the time frame and just hoping this doesn't take as long.

Answer 5

Not all children in foster care are adoptable.  Many are temporary placements and parental rights have not been terminated.

Answer 6

The training and assessment process everyone must go through to become a foster carer can be time consuming.  Community Service Organisation staff must constantly respond to crises and are overworked and underpaid, meaning the process of accrediting new foster carers takes even longer than it should.

It's not that new carers aren't needed, it's just that it takes an immense amount of work to accredit them so therefore it takes awhile.

Answer 7

There is a misconception that foster care is brimming over with adoptable children. This simply isn't true. The goal of foster care is reunification with the first family. That leaves very few children, many with severe special needs, whether they be physical, emotional, mental or all of the above. The waiting list may be long because the are looking for just the right family that will best suit the child's needs. These kids have already been through so much that the caseworkers are trying to eliminate the possibility of the adoption being disrupted. They want parents who are emotionally, physically and financially able to care for a particular child. And it's also true that in many cases PAPs are looking for a specific age or gender and are unwilling/unable to take certain special needs. And in other cases, there are indeed more adoptive families than adoptable children from foster care.

Answer 8

First parental rights have to be terminated, which can take years, in our case we were no-relative caregivers it took 29 months. Mom, appealed which took another 5 months, dad had to be given time to take a DNA, which he refused and his rights had to be terminated. Nothing can be officially done until all the legal issues have been taken care of.

Children that are older, children of certain ethnic groups or children with special needs, whose parents rights have been terminated or the parents have surrendered their rights, can be adopted faster.

Answer 9

I was kinda wondering the same thing.

Maybe it has to do with the state they are in or the restrictions of the type of child they will accept.

I thought it would take us a while because my husband and I were newly married and have large age gap. We had some restritions on what we could handle and the ages because of our child. We were matched within a couple of months. We have been matched with 7 kids in three years.

Answer 10

You (and a few others) seem to have an obsession with this Gaia person.  It's not healthy.  Please take care of yourself.

My wife and I have been waiting for a long time, as well.  The system is designed (in our state anyway) to provide the best possible parents for the children, not the other way around.  We're more than happy to wait while the children we "want" get placed with other families who are better suited to meet their needs.  One day, we will be matched with children whose needs we can meet best.  It's not up to us, and it shouldn't be up to us.

Answer 11

I have never heard of the process taking that long. It is as simple as a drug test, back-round check and home inspection. It takes a month TOPS !

Answer 12

Adoptive parents can request certain types and ages of children, which limits the children that are available who also meet those requirements. Also, because foster care is about finding the right a parents for the child, some children do not find appropriate matches. For instance, we couldn't have cared less about the age, s*x, race of our child...but we did want the child to be able to communicate and bond with us. We thought an older child would be placed with us, considering how many there are and our not having age as a factor. But b/c of OUR age, CPS determined that a younger child would be the best fit. We were open to siblings as well, but CPS determined that--as first time parents--we should start with just one child.

Finally, as any government run office, there are too many cases, not enough people, red tape, paperwork, classes, background checks, sending paperwork to another office for verification and approval, etc. Our process to be approved took 11 months....just to be approved. Once we were approved, it took just under 3 months for the call. But for people who are very specific, it could take far longer.

<<adoptive mommy through foster care.

Answer 13

Carnie,

This is a low blow.  To personally attack Gaia Raain.  Why do you care so much about what someone else says or does?  Seriously, this is really odd behavior.

Answer 14

The System is very screwed up in alot of areas. While I was in foster care i had one foster mother that had waited 9 months just for the home inspection. Its usually almost as Screwed up for the foster parents as it is for the foster children. Some places are more efficient than others. I have heard of foster mothers in my area, upstate SC, getting children as quick as 3 weeks and others waiting almost 2 years. they weren't being picky either they wanted any child they could be given.  I feel for you and hope that you are not being specific on what child you are willing to take. Just for the record if you mentioned wanting to take an older child (due to the fact they very rarely find a permanent foster home) they may work a little more in your favor. Everyone wants the cute little babies stand out maybe that will get their attention.

Kazi while I respect what you say every year between 500,000 and 800,000 children go into foster care in America out of that number between 150,000 and 250,000 do not go back home. To me that is brimming over with adoptable children

Answer 15

the foster care system is so corrupt.  kids are suffering because peole want to take kids that need their parents the most--  but no-- let's rip them from their parents who are trying to get better for their children. the usa foster care system accepts all kinds of people to parent kids.  losers should not adopt.  if parents want to keep their children let them.  stop rippinthem out of moms and dads arms just to satisfy the waiting parents needs.

Answer 16

Do you have nothing better to do with your time than to personally attack people?  You need serious help.