My husband and I want to adopt from the foster care program?

Question

What is the process that we are going to have to go through and how long does it take. What are the requirements that we will have to meet?

Answer 1

it is a fairly long process...and very detailed...as they are trying to best meet the needs of the children....Our casework part took about 6 months to complete...once finalized, they told us to expect anywhere from 1 month to 2 years wait...depending on our specifications for the child/ren....we were not specific at all....and 4 months later are about to have a new child at home....

You will have to prove that you are able to care for a child, that you have no record of abuse, neglect, felonies, etc....that you are willing to attend parenting courses and to share your background and current information--it is very detailed. Ultimately, it is all to get a good idea about your family and about how you deal with life situations...so that they don't place a child with you that wouldn't work with your relationship/parenting style/pets (allergies or aggressiveness)/etc.

Answer 2

This really isn't a good way to adopt. You have  no guarantee you will be able to adopted the baby you foster.

Our friends are going on 3 years trying to adopt their foster child. The birth father is willing to sign off and the birth mother hasn't bother to see the child since birth. She has been in and out of jail, drugs, missed court dates, disappeared, ended up back in jail and still they are going to court trying to get this baby.  In the mean time this child can legally be taken from thier home at any time. They have to get premission to go out of state for any vacation. Until it is a done deal they are stressed and worried.

Answer 3

The People working in Foster Care Adoptions first responsibility it to find families for waiting children and not children for families.... Therefore the "Wait" time is a hard one to define... It will all depend on the needs of children when you are ready to be matched and if your family appears to be one that will work for the child in question.

The place to start is your State and/or County DHS or Childrens Services office. Every State and County has their own criteria and process. You may be able to find some helpful information with the Child Welfare Gateway:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

The requirements are Training--and Certification, Home Study, Back ground and criminal history, financial stability..

It took us just about 8 months from our training to the point we were able to inquire about children...  Some families have quick placements within a few months and other families wait a year--or two and sometimes longer....

Much has to do with the kinds of issues parents are willing to accept--such as drug effected chilren, older, siblings and special needs....  Other issue have to do with the expereince of the parents...

Being WILLING to adopt a special needs child doesn't always insure quick placement--if the people in charge don't believe the willingness is educated or the parents expereinced enough to parent high need children.

There are a number of ways to gain expereince with Hurt children.... and also understand more about what you are getting into....

Becoming a RESPITE provider for Foster Families or Adoptive Parents can help those families parenting under stressful situations and at the same time offer hopeful adoptive parents the chance to have more hands on....

Often becoming Foster to Adopt parents is also an option where qualified parents provide Foster Care with the open mind to adopt should a child in their care have a caseplan that changes to adoption....

Look in your area for any Adoption Support Groups often these are open to families interested in adopting--and attending will put you in a room with other families who have gone through your local system.

Answer 4

Call your local social services. They will direct you. What state are you in? I am in the process of adopting in NC right now.

Answer 5

call your local childrens aid society they can help there is a course you have to attents (dont remember how long it is) after that they will start placing kids with u

and congratulations on your choice to help some kids out of orphanages

Answer 6

Me and my husband are currently trying to adopt from the foster care system in Georgia. The first thing they will have u do is attend 20 hours of classes. The classes consist mainly of the pshcological impact of foster care and adoption on a child ( The classes are great and i think every parent should have to take them !) While u are attending classes u will have a ton of paper work to work on. You will have to get fingerprinted, a physical, and be certified in cpr. The questions u have to answere in the packets are pretty deep, they ask u things about ur childhood, your realationship with your spouse and a number of other things! good luck! if u have any other questions please feel free to e-mail me!

Answer 7

That depends where you are.  My wife and I are doing that now and in our area it was the same process for both.  We approached CAS and told them we wanted to foster to adopt.  We completed the paperwork, took some intro classes and had a home study done within 4 months.  We were approved at the start if Jan, licensed as a foster home in mid Feb and 3 hours after we were licensed we received a second call asking us to meet the worker at the hospital to bring home a 4 day old.  She is with us now as a foster child while the court work is being done and by mid summer we anticipate that she will be through the adoption process and be ours fully and legally.

Essentially the requirements are the same for both, at least in my area.  By doing one you are qualified for the other.  It's just a matter of time.

I'd doing this in Alberta Canada so if you have any questions and are in my area then contact me through my profile and I'll answer any more questions you may have.

Answer 8

All of this depends on the state you are in. In Georgia it takes about 10 weeks from start to finish. There is orientation, IMPACT classes, and home study. Then after you do the stuff to become a foster parent you have to wait for a child that needs to be adopted that meets your criteria. My social worker told my husband and I that it is anywhere from 10 weeks to 6 months to get a child in our home.