What to Expect When Adopting from Foster Care

Adoption from foster care is a complex, nuanced issue. Foster care is designed to be a temporary arrangement for children and teens when their parents or primary caregivers are in crisis. The ultimate goal of foster care is reunification with the family as soon as possible. However, there are some situations where reunification isn’t possible.
Adoption from foster care can be joyful, meaningful and life-changing — but families should also expect complexities and challenges. From the emotional trauma a child experiences in both foster care and adoption to the realities of how adoption can occur, here’s what you need to know if you’re considering adoption from foster care in Kansas.
Kids and teens in your community need you. Explore adoption from foster care with KVC.
Reunification is the Initial Goal When a Child is Placed in Foster Care

Danielle Bartelli, Vice President of KVC Kansas
Reunification is the process of reintegrating a child with their biological family after time in foster care, and it’s the initial goal in most foster care scenarios. While safe family reunification is something we celebrate, it’s also important to acknowledge the emotional complexities that are inherent when a child is placed in foster care. As KVC Kansas Vice President Danielle Bartelli explains, “Children experience different levels of trauma throughout their time in foster care.” While foster care exists to help children and families in difficult situations, there is always trauma when a child is separated from their parents, even if their home environment wasn’t safe.
While some parents choose to grow their families through adoption from foster care, KVC Kansas doesn’t offer a Foster to Adopt program. Because our focus is on reunification, any adoption will only occur after reunification has been deemed impossible and the process of termination of parental rights has taken place. Most often, families will become foster parents to care for children and teens in need before pursuing adoption.
If you’re interested in foster parenting and adopting a child or teen from foster care, keep reunification at the forefront of your mind. Your role as a foster parent is to not only support the child in your care, but also to support their biological family throughout the reunification process. This is a meaningful opportunity to expand the child’s support network by supporting them and their family however needed!
What Happens When Reunification is Not Possible
Unfortunately, reunification isn’t always possible. This means a child or teen now needs a new option for their forever home. The next goal is most often adoption, but other permanency options exist for youth in foster care, such as:
- SOUL Family is a new legal permanency option in Kansas where one or more adults carry the legal status of a familial relationship throughout a youth’s lifetime. They offer support and resources beyond the youth’s 18th birthday.
- Permanent Custodianship offers financial assistance to children who have had both reunification and adoption ruled out while in DCF custody.
- Independent Living is not a permanency option, but it can be an outcome when a child “ages out” of the foster care system. This can result in challenges like homelessness or returning to unsafe family situations, so it is never our goal for a child to find permanency in this way.
The Emotional Journey of Adoption

Angela Hedrick, Vice President of KVC Kansas
While there’s a lot of excitement and celebration in adoption, it’s also a journey full of loss and trauma for everyone involved. As KVC Vice President Angela Hedrick explains, the emotional journey of adoption brings a mixed bag of joy and grief. In addition to her work at KVC, Angela brings personal experience as a foster parent who adopted children from foster care.
From both her own family’s experience and the experiences of families at KVC, Angela knows how important it is to be supportive and open with children in your care no matter where you are in the fostering or adoption process.
“It’s not always easy,” Angela says. “Sometimes there are hard or sad feelings, but it feels more natural when communication is a constant part of our daily lives so we don’t have to have an awkward build-up to a hard conversation. And we can make sure to help them navigate anything they’re struggling with.”
Children adopted as babies or at a very young age can still experience trauma, despite the common misconception that they won’t. “That trauma always manifests,” Danielle says. “It’s going to come up, so start talking about it now. This shows children that they don’t need to hide their feelings from you.”
KVC’s Adoption Process
During the adoption journey, KVC prepares families with information and support, including the availability of support services for twelve months following adoption finalization. KVC also provides full disclosure of all available information about the child’s background, experiences and needs. Families interested in adopting must complete a home study to determine their readiness for adoption. A home study is an extensive and highly detailed process that includes several items, including:
- A criminal background check
- Employment verification
- Health assessments for all family members and pets
- Reference checks
- Several interviews
We also ask adoptive parents to attend Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) trainings. This helps them understand the nuances of adoption from foster care and how to discuss it with their extended family.
Adopting After Foster Parenting or as Adopt-Only
KVC’s adoption process looks slightly different depending on the path you take: Fostering first, or adoption without fostering (adopt-only). Both paths come with their own unique strengths and complexities.
If a person is a licensed foster parent and a judge rules the child in their care can legally pursue permanency options beyond reunification, that foster parent may choose to explore adoption. This also involves a home study and is followed by a “Best Interest Staffing.” During this meeting, the KVC team reviews the home study and the child’s history to determine if this match suits both the adoptive family and the child. Sometimes, several families might be interested in the same child, which makes this step crucial in the process.
KVC’s adopt-only program is an option for families interested in adopting children who are currently in foster care, but without becoming a licensed foster parent. A child becomes eligible for adoption when a judge rules the child and their case team can legally pursue permanency options beyond reunification.
Can I Adopt an Infant or Young Child From Foster Care?
It’s important to note that infants and young children are not as commonly in need of adoption as one might think. The reunification process is very extensive, as is the termination of parental rights. That means a child may be in foster care for quite some time before they are eligible for adoption. Even when reunification efforts have been exhausted, KVC has an entire department of kinship staff dedicated to identifying family members who may want to care for the child, as it is important to keep children connected to their history and culture.
In the rare situations where an infant or a toddler is searching for an adoptive family, the foster parents who have cared for them most often adopt them. If an adopt-only family wants to adopt a child younger than eight years old, they need to be open to unique situations like adopting sibling groups or a child with developmental disabilities or medical needs.
Who Can Adopt a Child from Foster Care?
Adoption from foster care is an option for nearly any person looking to grow their family, including those who are single, people in the LGBTQIA+ community and adults at any stage in life. You do not need to own a home or fit a certain demographic to adopt.
To adopt a child who is in state custody and served by KVC, Kansas requires the following:
- Able to provide a stable, loving home for a child who has experienced abuse or neglect
- At least 21 years of age
- Financial stability
- Cleared background checks
- 30 hours of free training with MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) Foundations
- A commitment to making a difference
Additionally, the cost to adopt from foster care is basically free. Typically people who adopt from foster care do so in the state where they currently live. In that case, the state may likely fund the costs of adoption from foster care. This means that in most cases there are very few to no fees at all to adopt from foster care.
Learn more about KVC’s adoption team in this video:
Who in Foster Care is Looking for an Adoptive Family?
Children of any age, background or situation who have not had success with reunification may be eligible for adoption. However, KVC most often helps older children, children with unique needs, and sibling sets find an adoptive family.
Teenagers are one of the largest groups in need of adoption from foster care. Teens in foster care need a lot of support and care just like young children do. Unfortunately, families may often not consider adopting a teen in the same way they may consider young children. If you’re considering adoption, we encourage you to think about adopting a youth age 12 or older! It’s amazing how changing a teen’s life can change your own as well.
