Navigating Adoption from Foster Care in Kansas: Resources for Every Step
Adoption from foster care is a beautiful and life-changing journey, but it can also feel overwhelming at times. If you’re considering adoption and you’re feeling uncertain about the paperwork, questions, or next steps, you’re not alone. It’s natural to feel both excitement and overwhelm as you prepare to welcome a new family member through adoption! Find helpful resources and programs designed specifically to help adults explore the adoption process in Kansas.
At KVC Kansas, we want to ensure families feel prepared to provide lifelong stability, love and support. There is a wealth of resources — both from KVC and from state and local communities — to help prospective, current and post-adoptive families feel confident and equipped to make a difference. Let’s explore these tools together so you can focus on what matters most: building a strong, loving, and lasting family.
Understanding the Adoption from Foster Care Process in Kansas
The journey to adopting from foster care is as unique as each family and child, involving several steps that prepare adoptive parents with the information and skills necessary to provide the care youth need to succeed. There are two main paths to adoption through foster care, each offering a chance to change a child or teen’s life forever.
One path begins when foster parents decide to adopt a child already in their care, deepening the bond they’ve nurtured. The second path is for families who feel called to adopt but aren’t currently fostering or don’t have a specific child in mind. Through Adopt Only programs, these families can connect with children in need of a loving and permanent home.
No matter which path a family takes, the destination is the same: offering lifelong love, stability, and a place to belong.
What to Expect When Adopting from Foster Care
Families who adopt through KVC Kansas will work closely with us for everything — from their home study to getting to know the child and following the appropriate steps with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). Some of the things you can expect when pursuing adoption include:
- Completing a training course and home study
- A criminal background check
- Employment verification
- Health assessments for all family members (and pets too!)
- Reference checks
- And several interviews with KVC Kansas and DCF staff
Families pursuing the Adopt Only route with KVC Kansas must complete MAPP Foundations training. If you’re already a foster parent, you’ve already completed this training as part of the licensing process.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have lots of questions, you’re not alone! Here are some of the questions we most frequently hear from prospective, current and post-adoptive families.
How much does it cost to adopt through foster care?
Adoption through foster care involves little to no cost because the costs are funded by the state. This vastly differs from private adoption routes, which can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000.
How long does the adoption process in Kansas take?
Adoption through foster care can take anywhere from six months to a year, though it varies depending on the family and child.
Who are the children looking for an adoptive family?
Children of any age, ability and background who have not had success with reunification may be eligible for adoption. Those most in need of adoption are:
- Children with unique needs
- Youths age 12 and older
- And sibling groups who need to be adopted together
While we always protect youth’s privacy, we ensure adoptive parents are educated on the unique needs and stories of the youth they are considering adopting, especially for those with significant needs.
Resources for Prospective Adoptive Families
For individuals and families who are just beginning to research adoption from foster care, here are some resources to get started:
Start Your Adoption Journey with KVC Kansas
At KVC Kansas, we’re here to guide and support you on your adoption journey. Our adoption website provides everything you need to know about adopting from foster care, including the requirements, qualities of a great adoptive parent, and insights into the amazing youth waiting for loving homes. You’ll also find answers to common questions and helpful resources to help you feel confident every step of the way. Visit kvckansas.org/adoption to learn more.
We proudly provide adoption services in Areas 3 and 6 comprising of Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties. We also collaborate closely with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Adopt Kansas Kids to match children with loving families. When you’re ready to continue the adoption process in Kansas, submit this form to connect with a KVC Kansas adoption specialist today!
Adoption Specialist Contact
When you’re ready to speak with a member of our adoption team, your first point of contact will likely be one of our Adoptive Resource Coordinators, Karra Friedli or Jessica Brintall. After you submit this form, Karra or Jessica will respond right away with resources and information to get you started.
Adoption Resources Guide
One resource Karra and Jessica frequently send to prospective adoptive families is the Adoption Resources Guide developed by KVC Kansas’ Adoption team. This guide includes online resources, resource engines, books and more.
Resources for Families Currently in the Adoption Process in Kansas
Once you begin the adoption process in Kansas, we provide many resources and trainings to equip you for success. These include the required MAPP Foundations training and support from KVC’s foster care case management services, who visit your home at least once a month but are also available for more frequent connection as needed. We also connect new adoptive parents to external resources that may help during the process and after, like mental health services and need-based waivers for their children.
Here are a few other helpful resources for families navigating the adoption process in Kansas:
KPARC (Kansas Post-Adoptive Resource Center) has resources available before or after the finalization of adoption.
MATCH program (Mastering Adoption through Trauma-informed Care and Healing): An eight-week program to educate and prepare families on adoption-related issues like loss and grief, managing expectations and building a support network.
Children’s Alliance of Kansas offers several free trainings, from navigating the child welfare system to managing behavioral and attachment issues.
Kansas PMTO: KVC Kansas is a leading provider of the PMTO (Parent Management Training-Oregon) model in the state of Kansas. This therapeutic parenting program combines family therapy with empowerment to help parents confidently improve their caregiving practices.
Learning to Improve Supports and Resources for Future Adoptive Families
While not a common outcome, some youth may return to foster care following a finalized adoption due to no fault of the child. When this happens, KVC Kansas tracks this information to understand what caused it and how we can ensure adoptive families have the support they need to meet the youth’s needs. This tracking also gives us an opportunity to learn and improve our support systems for future adoptive parents.
How KVC Assists with the Legal Process
As with any DCF-related process, the adoption process in Kansas care involves many legal procedures. We work closely with each child’s guardian ad litem (essentially the child’s attorney), relying on their legal expertise to help our case managers and the adoptive parent navigate the court system.
“[Court can be] a pretty scary environment sometimes for kids and families,” said Kierstin Reed, KVC Kansas’ Director of Adoption Services. “We try to prepare them and answer questions to help them as they’re going to those hearings.” Our role is to partner with and support adoptive parents throughout these legal processes.
How KVC Supports Adoptive Families Emotionally
In addition to being in the home monthly, KVC case managers are available for phone calls, text messages and other forms of communication to address minor crises and questions as they arise throughout the adoption and post-adoption process.
Reed says, “As a department, we are really working to educate ourselves as well on trauma and on adoption-informed care so that the support we are giving is in line with what our families need.”
We aren’t just sending our families off to trainings on trauma-informed care—we’re taking these trainings and more as well so we can be your point of contact in any scenario!
Resources for Post-Adoptive Families
Whether a family has recently finalized their adoption or did so months or years ago, we want to make sure every family has the resources they need to succeed. Here are some of the resources available to families post-adoption:
KVC Kansas’ Aftercare Services
Members of KVC Kansas’ Aftercare team at KVC’s National Adoption Day 2024 event in Olathe, KS
For up to six months following the finalization of an adoption, the family has access to KVC’s Aftercare services. This primarily includes meeting with the family once a month and ensuring they have the support and resources they need, from helping them change medication management providers to tackling insurance issues to in-home therapy services.
Other Post-Adoptive Support Services
We give families a post-adoption information folder that details all of the post-adoption programs available to them in their county, both internal KVC resources and those available through their community. Some programs available include KPARC, TFI and DCCCA post-adoption support programs and more.
We’ve had families call us for help years after their adoption was finalized because something came up unexpectedly. We’re always prepared to provide these families with the resources they need, and ensure they have a DCF contact person as well!
Support Groups and Events for Post-Adoptive Families
We firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a child. We all need connection! And this is especially true of adoptive families! In addition to events and support groups through programs like KPARC, we encourage adoptive families to look for local and virtual support groups to connect not just with their local community, but with the greater foster care and adoption community.
Friedli also recommends researching events and groups related to the adopted child’s culture and identity. “This can help them maintain that piece of themselves so it doesn’t get lost in the grand picture of things,” she explains.
One family who adopted a youth with significant developmental delays made a point of maintaining existing connections for their child, including integrating the child’s previous foster parents as part of that child’s village. It’s families like these who are passionate about building support and utilizing all available resources that we find having the most success in their adoption journeys!
How KVC Kansas Partners with Other Programs and Agencies
Every agency offers different resources and does things a little differently. And we believe that by collaborating both internally and externally we can provide the best possible support for our adoptive families!
Case management providers in Kansas like KVC meet regularly to create work groups and develop new resources for adoptive and foster families. Most recently, Kansas’ case management providers developed an adoption guidebook for children under 12 experiencing the adoption process, which will be rolling out soon with Adopt Kansas Kids! We also have a Kansas Adoption Network meeting at least twice a year that includes case management providers and other partnerships such as DCF coming together to problem-solve as a larger adoption-focused group.
Considering Adopting a Child from Foster Care in Kansas?
The Bears family on National Adoption Day 2024
If you’re considering adoption through foster care, we encourage you to start asking questions, going through training and exploring resources now! The more you educate yourself, the better prepared you will be to make an informed decision about adoption. Reed urges prospective adoptive parents to:
- Be prepared to reflect on their own upbringing
- Build a tolerance for rejection
- Educate themselves about trauma and child development
- Learn how to prioritize self-care
- And start fortifying their natural support system
We also encourage anyone considering foster care or adoption (or both) to sign up for the resources, newsletters and every other free resource available to them. These resources may pop up in your inbox at exactly the right time during your adoption journey!
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. “Things will absolutely get hard,” says Reed. “That is a guarantee that it will get challenging, and the support will absolutely be necessary for every single person.”
If you’re ready to start the conversation about adoption through foster care with KVC Kansas, learn more about our adoption services and contact us today!
