Adopting through foster care

The main focus of National Adoption Month
is to bring more awareness to
the hundreds of thousands of children in foster care.

Currently there are 425,000 children in foster care in the United States. It's estimated that 115,000 are eligible for adoption

. In 2009 about 57,456 "waiting children" were adopted within the U.S. from the public foster-care system. .

Children in foster care average 8.1 years old according to the AFCARS 2009 report. Most are deemed to have special needs because of physical, mental, or behavioral disabilities, age, or membership in a minority or sibling group .

Of children in foster care currently waiting for adoption, 38% are Caucasian, 30% are African-American, and 22% are Hispanic. .

Approximately 40% are siblings who need to be adopted as a group to stay together.

The average child in foster care goes through 3 different placements and stays in the system for about 30 months.

Each year about 26,000 children age out of the foster care system.

Things are different now in the welfare system-and that's good news for both kids and parents. It used to be that you had to be a foster parent first in order to adopt, but that's changed.

People can now state up front that they want to be considered for adoption only. That makes for a quicker process, with fewer broken hearts along the way.

The exception to this rule is for those who are wanting to adopt newborns. Because their birth parent's parental rights take from 3-6 months to be terminated, prospective parents often go the foster care route first with the hope of adopting later.

While the foster care systems first goal is to return the child to his birth family, about 30% of the children who enter foster care never return home. (and prospective parents who express an interest in adoption receive foster care children who are less likely to return home.)

How to Become a Foster or Adoptive Parent

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Whether you’re ready to create a home for a waiting child—or you want more information about the process—the seven steps below will put you on the right path.
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1. Call an adoption agency or the Department of Children and Families in your area. Go to adoptuskids.org, then click on “Resource Center” and “State Specific Guidelines” to find an agency near you.
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2. Attend an orientation meeting. You will learn who the children are who need care, the responsibilities of foster/adoptive parents, and the process you will go through.
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3. Participate in training. The training program is usually four to 10 sessions. It will prepare you for fostering/adopting, teach you how to work with the agency, and help you decide whether fostering/adopting is right for you.
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4. Complete the application. You will need to provide reference letters from employers and friends, personal information about your family, and criminal background checks.
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5. Have a homestudy. The agency’s licensing worker determines whether your home is safe and has sufficient space for a child.
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6. Wait for approval. You may have to wait for the background checks, homestudy, and other approval paperwork to be reviewed. Use the time for reading and networking with other foster and adoptive parents.
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7. Congratulations! You’ve been approved and are ready for placement. This is where the agency and you work together to find the right match.

.Typical Cost: $1,500 to $3,500 in initial expenses but fees can be recouped through federal reimbursement plan or the adoption tax credit. Many families will receive the federal tax credit ($13,710 in 2010), regardless of their actual expenses. .

Benefits: Reimbursements make the cost negligible, and ongoing subsidies (averaging $350 per month) are available to help pay for the child's needs, including medical and counseling, daycare, and tutoring. .

Risks: Older children may have emotional, physical, or mental disabilities, or other special needs. The process can take a while because state agencies often are understaffed.

Photos of waiting children can be viewed at

www.adoptuskids.org

you never know...
one of these kids could be your child
waiting for you to find them.