At any given time, there are over 450,000 children in the state foster care system.¹ These children have often endured abuse or neglect, come from homes where their biological parents have had struggles with drug addictions, domestic violence or many other issues, and thus they were removed from their families.

Thankfully, thousands of caring foster parents from all over the country answer the call each year and fill the role as temporary, and sometimes permanent, parents to these children.

These people understand that their role as foster parents is to provide care for children who are likely going to reintigrate with their biological parents. There are times, however, when foster parents are able to adopt the children they have cared for while in foster care.

Before making any decisions about pursuing adoption, it is important for prospective adoptive families to know if they are the right fit for the foster care program or if they would be better served by pursuing a private adoption.

Rehabilitation and Reintegration

When the State’s Department of Social Services learns of any sort of problems at the home and chooses to remove the child for his or her safety, the agency will first make every attempt to find another family member to care for the child while his or her parents seek the help they need. If there is no relative available, the agency will then find a foster family to care for the child.

A court hearing is scheduled a week or two after the child is placed in the foster home, where the judge will disclose the cause of the child’s removal to the biological parents. If they plead no contest, the case moves forward and the judge implements either a reintegration plan or an adoption plan. Rarely does a case ever move immediately to an adoption plan because the foster care system was designed with the goal of reintegrating families.

During this hearing, the judge may require that the biological parents complete certain goals or programs to reclaim their child. These may include attending drug or alcohol treatment programs, attaining stable employment or housing, attending parenting classes, or rehabilitating any other area for which the child was placed in foster care.

According to the South Carolina Department of Social Services web site, the entire purpose of foster care is to implement a permanency plan for each child. Permanency plans, from highest to lowest priority based on federal law, are reunification with parents, adoption by a relative, adoption by a non-relative or the foster family, guardianship with a relative or non-relative, and other planned permanent living arrangements.²

Because federal law states that reintegration with the biological parents is preferred, they are given many opportunities to reclaim their child. They are assessed at the end of each year in a permanency hearing, and if they are making an adequate effort in completing the goals set by the judge, the reintegration plan will remain intact or the child will be reintigrated. However, if the court determines they aren’t making enough progress, the court will then schedule a trial for the termination of parental rights.

Biological parents are given one to two years on average to rehabilitate themselves to be suitable parents, as long as they are making the required amount of effort as determined by each court. In fact, in 2008 foster children waited 25 months on average for the termination of their birth parents’ parental rights, and it took an average of 14 months for them to be adopted. Thus, a child adopted through foster care had to wait nearly 3 ¼ years to be adopted.³

It should also be noted that at any time during this process, a family member of the child can step in and the court will always consider him or her as a permanent placement for the child. Relatives tend to hold more power than foster parents when the court determines placement of the child.

When the rehabilitation of the biological parents fails and there are no other viable options of placing with a relative, the foster family will then be sought as a permanent placement.

Preparing for Adoption through the State

Not all couples wanting to adopt through the state foster care system have to become foster parents. They can sign up as a potential adoptive family through the state agency, where they can either look through the list of children waiting to be adopted or they can wait until they receive a call once another child becomes available.

The process of becoming licensed as an adoptive family is actually very similar to becoming licensed as a foster family.

To get started, foster families and adoptive families of the State must complete the training and adoption home study processes. All states require that foster and adoptive families enroll in a free training program that educates them on the challenges of raising an adopted child. For example, Kansas requires a 30-hour training program that includes topics such as how children cope with the loss of family, how trust and attachments are built, how to be supportive and sensitive of a child’s past, and how to exhibit effective parenting skills.⁴

Secondly, both foster and adoptive families must complete an adoption home study, which, unlike in a private adoption, is free in most states. The home study process is very similar to those required in a private adoption, consisting of the collection of criminal background checks, medical and financial history, and interviews with each family member. The in-home visit, however, is often much more extensive when adopting through the state.

The social worker performing the in-home visit will assess all of the areas covered in a private adoption home study, but they are also required by the State to look at more intricate areas of the physical home in order to ensure that each foster care child is living in a safe environment. For example, if there is a room in the attic, a certain percentage of the ceiling must be above a certain height for smoke ventilation; the railings on a staircase must be so far apart; and the windows have to be at least a particular width and height. If an area of the home needs to be updated, the foster or adoptive family will oftentimes have to pay for it, which is one of the only expenses required in a state adoption.

While the licensing process is very similar for both prospective foster parents and adoptive parents, the similarities end there.

The Right Fit

Foster parents are very special people that provide a tremendous service for children in need. Couples must understand that being foster parents can be a lot of work and can be a very emotional journey because of the unpredictability of the fate of the foster child.

This is why it is recommended that couples entering into the foster care system are doing so because they want to become foster parents, and not just adoptive parents.  

In many circumstances, foster parents will have the opportunity to adopt a child one day, but the road to get there can be difficult for those who aren’t passionate about being foster parents. Those who are foster parents understand that they may take in a child for a week, a month or a year and then one day may see him or her return to the biological parents or another family member.

Couples who become foster parents solely to adopt a child may find this process very difficult because they may want to bond with each child they take in. Then, if and when the child is placed back with his or her biological parents, the hopeful adoptive parents may find themselves emotionally distraught.

Those who are able to handle the challenges of foster care and are passionate about providing foster care, however, will eventually be rewarded with the opportunity to adopt a child through the foster care system.

Couples who are not interested in foster care can still adopt through the State, but there are a few things to consider.

Adoptive families are the last priority on the aforementioned list of possible placements mandated by federal law, which of course begins with the reunification with the biological parents. Many times the court will then begin seeking other family members, then foster families, then guardianship with relatives, and finally non-related adoptive families. This can result in long wait times for hopeful adoptive families.

Couples wishing to adopt through the state without providing foster care must also be willing to adopt older children and sibling groups. For example, couples who sign up with the state placing agency KVC of Kansas must be open to adopting the following: Any child age 8 or older; a sibling group of two with one child who is 8 or older; a sibling group of three or more at any age; and a child of any age who has severe special needs.⁵

For some couples, they may prefer to adopt an older child or a sibling group anyway, so adopting through the State might be the best path to take toward building their family. Plus, there is very minimal cost associated with a state adoption, and many families are actually paid an adoption stipend.

For other couples, they may determine that they are more interested in adopting an infant, in which case a private adoption is probably a more realistic avenue to add to their family because of the exclusivity of infants in the foster care system.

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Adoption through the foster care system, a state agency or private agency requires a lot of effort from adoptive parents, no matter which avenue they choose to build their family. It really is up to the prospective adoptive parents to take an honest assessment of themselves as individuals and to determine which method they are most comfortable with, as well as their goals for the adoption.

Although it can be a lot of work, the good news is that all three will almost always guarantee the couple an opportunity to adopt a child.


¹U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/trends.htm

²South Carolina Department of Social Services
https://dss.sc.gov/content/customers/protection/fcs/index.aspx

³U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report16.htm

⁴KVC Kansas – Foster to Adopt
http://www.kvc.org/kansas/kansas-services/adoption-services/foster-adopt

⁵KVC Kansas – Adoption Training and Support
http://www.kvc.org/kansas/kansas-services/adoption-services/adoption-training-and-support