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Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption

adoption from foster care frequently asked questions

This is your go-to resource for all things related to adopting from foster care. Whether you’re just starting your adoption journey or looking for detailed answers to specific questions, we’ve got you covered. Our goal is to provide clear, comprehensive answers to the most frequently asked questions about adoption from foster care, making your path as smooth and informed as possible.

You’ll find information about the adoption process, eligibility requirements, and what to expect at each step. Additionally, we explain the importance of matching and detail the steps we take to ensure appropriate, life-long adoptive matches for both children and families. We also address common concerns, such as costs, support services, and how to prepare for bringing a child into your home.

Additionally, we tackle misconceptions about adoption from foster care to help you understand the realities and dispel myths. Learn about the different needs of children in foster care, the importance of providing a stable and loving home, and how you can make a lasting impact on a child’s life.

As you consider adoption and the joy of providing a safe, stable home for youth in need, explore these frequently asked questions. These answers will equip you with the knowledge and confidence to move forward. Dive in, explore our answers, and feel free to email adoptionspecialist@kvc.org if you have any additional questions.

We invite you to take the first step towards creating a forever family and changing a child’s life.

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General Questions About Adoption from Foster Care

Adoption from foster care is complex and nuanced. Foster care is designed to be a temporary arrangement for children and teens when their parents or primary caregivers are in crisis. While the ultimate goal of foster care is reunification with biological family as soon as possible, there are some situations where reunification isn’t possible.

Many children find forever homes with relatives, non-relative kin like teachers or family friends, or their foster parents. However, some still wait for their chance. A child becomes eligible for adoption when a judge rules the child and their case team can legally pursue permanency options beyond reunification. 

Adoption from foster care can be joyful, meaningful and life-changing — but families should also expect complexities and challenges. Read this blog to learn more about what to expect when adopting from foster care.

Adopting a child from foster care involves several steps to ensure the readiness and suitability of prospective parents. KVC is a licensed adoption agency in Kansas and we would be honored to get to know your family and support you on your adoption journey. Understand the adoption process here:

1. Take a Training Class

Most states require a training class before approving a family to adopt a child from foster care. In the state of Kansas, the required training is called MAPP Foundations (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) – a free 30-hour course. The goal of this training is to help prospective foster and adoptive parents gain a better understanding of their ability, willingness and readiness to adopt.

To find out when the next training class is starting, visit this page and our recruiter will contact you.

2. Application and Home Study

After completing the required MAPP Foundation training course, you’ll work with KVC to complete an adoption application and home study. This process usually takes three to six months and KVC will cover this cost if the child you are adopting is in our care.

This application includes:

  • Criminal background check
  • Verification of employment
  • Health assessment of all family members
  • Reference checks from friends and family

Additionally, we’ll discuss a variety of topics to understand your parenting strengths and any areas for improvement. Discussions will include:

  • Parenting style
  • Life experiences
  • Sense of family
  • Expectations for a child
  • Reasons for wanting to adopt
  • Thoughts about the type of child you feel best equipped to parent

3. Matching Process

After you complete the MAPP Foundations class and have an approved home study and application, you’ll register on the Adopt Kansas Kids exchange for a potential match. Through this exchange, you’ll be able to meet youth looking for an adoptive family, and youth will be able to meet you. Children available for adoption are typically age 10 and above, part of sibling sets who need to be adopted together, or have unique needs.

Once you express interest in a child, we’ll work with your family to schedule a matching call based on your availability. During this call, you’ll have a chance to share additional information about your family. You’ll also have an opportunity to learn more about the child from those who work directly with them. KVC provides full disclosure of all available information about the child’s background, experiences and needs.

The goal of this call is to allow your family, the case team and other professionals to determine if your family is able to meet the child’s needs and move forward to the next step in the adoption process.

4. Best Interest Staffing

Once there’s a match, your family’s profile will be placed on hold and no additional inquiries will be processed while you move forward with the match. Then, KVC will host a “Best Interest Staffing” (BIS) where our team reviews your home study and application along with the child’s history to determine if the 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.

If the Best Interest Staffing determines your family is the best fit for the child, you’ll move onto the next step in the adoption process.

If you aren’t selected, your family’s profile will be available again so other children can learn about you and you can learn about other children searching for an adoptive family. Please keep in mind that every decision is made with the child’s best interest at heart to ensure that the selected family can provide the care that best fits the child’s specific needs. Just because you’re not chosen for one child doesn’t mean your family won’t be a great fit for another.

5. Placement & Finalization

If the Best Interest Staffing determines your family and the child are well-suited, you’ll soon begin caring for the child if they weren’t already in your care.

Then, you’ll schedule a time to negotiate an adoption subsidy with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and sign the Adoption Placement Agreement (APA). You must notify your KVC Adoption Specialist when the APA has been signed.

Adoption finalization typically occurs 6 months after signing the APA, although this time varies based on a variety of factors, including how long the child has been in your home.

6. Congratulations!

The adoption has been finalized! KVC provides you and your family individualized support services for up to 12 months following the adoption finalization. These services are intended to help your family with the transition and adjustment period while addressing any concerns, questions, challenges, and of course, celebrating wins!

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Contact KVC for more information or to start your adoption journey today! We’ve successfully matched over 5,300 children with forever families and are ready to support you in your adoption journey.

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.

In Kansas, adults interested in adopting a child from foster care must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Able to provide a stable, loving home for a child who has experienced abuse or neglect
  • Be at least 21 years of age
  • Be financially stable
  • Pass background checks
  • Willing to complete 30 hours of free training with MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) Foundations
  • Have a commitment to making a difference

The timeline for the adoption process varies, but it generally takes between six months to a year. This timeline includes completing the MAPP Foundations training course, submitting the home study and application, matching, and working with KVC and the court system.

The cost to adopt a child from foster care is essentially low-cost or free. Most expenses, such as the home study and legal fees, are covered by the state. There may be minimal costs related to background checks or health assessments.

Children of any age, background or situation who have not had success with reunification may be eligible for adoption. However, youth available for adoption through KVC are often:

  • 12 years old and older (learn more about the rewards and joys of adopting older children)
  • Sibling groups who need to be adopted together
  • Children with unique needs

Teenagers are one of the largest groups in need of adoption from foster care. In Kansas, approximately 500 youth are searching for their forever family who can give them the care, support and love they deserve. If you’re considering adoption, we encourage you to think about adopting a youth age 12 or older! You’d be amazed at how changing a teen’s life can change your own as well.

Currently, about 500 children in Kansas foster care are waiting to be adopted. These children typically are 10 and older, part of sibling sets who need to be adopted together, or have unique needs. They come from all races, ethnic groups, and socio-economic backgrounds.

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.

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.

Contact us to learn more.

Adopting from foster care means embracing children who have experienced trauma. These children may have complex behavioral and mental health needs. However, with proper support and a loving environment, they can overcome these challenges and thrive. As an adoptive parent, you’ll play a crucial role in providing:

  • Emotional Support: Helping them heal and trust again, with the help of a mental health treatment provider.
  • Educational Advocacy: Ensuring they receive appropriate education plans and services.
  • Behavioral Guidance: Addressing and supporting their behavioral needs.

Relationships between adoptive youth and parents grow through steady love, support and understanding. As you consider adopting children from foster care, you can’t imagine the reward. You’ll experience the joy of helping children grow, succeed and become a cherished member of your family.

Read this article to learn more.

Every situation is unique. You may be encouraged to maintain the child’s connections with previous foster families, siblings, relatives and/or other family friends. These connections are crucial because they help the child understand their history and culture.

Additionally, having more caring individuals in your life means you have a broader support network to rely on. As the saying goes, “it takes a village” to raise a child with love and stability.

Private adoption typically involves the adoption of infants whose parents have placed them for adoption by their own volition. There are two primary types of private adoptions: independent adoptions and agency adoptions.

  • Independent adoptions involve the adoptive family finding a pregnant mother through networking. Then the services of an adoption agency are used to complete the process legally.
  • In an agency adoption, the agency assists the adoptive family through the whole process, which includes finding adoption opportunities.

International (or intercountry) private adoptions involve the adoption of a child from another country. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, there is usually less information available about the individual child when adopting internationally. Additionally, recent data shows that international adoptions are becoming significantly less common. This is due to the growing evidence of ethical concerns when adopting internationally.

Giving a child the foundation of a loving, caring family is a tremendously rewarding experience. This lifelong commitment can make all the difference in the world to a child.

At KVC, we work to ensure the successful placement of a child in a home. Before and after adoption, we give families the tools and education needed to ease the transition, make a successful bond and build a strong future.

Once a family has finalized an adoption, KVC provides you and your family individualized support services for up to 12 months following the adoption finalization. These services are intended to help your family with the transition and adjustment period while addressing any concerns, questions, challenges, and of course, celebrating wins!

We can also provide support through outpatient in-home family therapy, medication management, and can help you address other family needs and access resources for parenting children who have experienced trauma.

Click here for a list of Adoption Resources and visit the Kansas Post Adoption Resource Center for other adoption resources.

Infants and young children are not as commonly in need of adoption as one might think. While young children and babies do enter state custody, our first goal is to try and safely reunite the child with their birth parents.

The reunification process is very extensive, and if reunification isn’t possible, the termination of parental rights process begins. 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 and parental rights are terminated, 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.

If you’re not interested in exploring adoption of older youth, here are a few agencies that specialize in adoptions of toddlers and babies:

Yes, you can adopt even if you already have children! Many adoptive families have biological children and are looking to expand their family through adoption.

While other permanency options exist for children and youth in foster care, the two most common outcomes are reunification and adoption. Reunification is the process of reintegrating a child with their biological family after a season of foster care, and it’s the initial goal in most foster care scenarios.

Unfortunately, reunification isn’t always possible. When reunification isn’t possible and parental rights are terminated, that child or teen 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.

To find adoption success stories, visit the KVC Kansas blog here. There, you’ll find inspiring stories of families who have successfully adopted children from foster care and the positive impact it has had on their lives.

Now, meet a few of the families KVC has supported through adoption:

Michelle, Mikhayla & Dakota

“Yes, it’s hard. It’s REALLY hard,” says Michelle, who began as a foster mom and adopted the two children in her care. “But the overwhelming joy that comes with each tiny success towards healing… the joy in these moments far outweighs anything else.” Read this family’s story here and watch the emotional video below.

Kelsey and Jason

When Kelsey and her husband Jason became foster parents, they were unsure of taking in teens, but after they decided to go for it, it changed their lives forever. Read their family’s story here and watch the video below to learn more!

Find more stories on our blog!

 

KVC Kansas’ adoption team works to locate and support safe and nurturing permanent families for children in foster care who cannot safely return to their birth family. In the last decade, KVC has matched over 5,300 children and youth with loving forever homes.

Recognizing that adoption is a life-long commitment, KVC strives to provide families with preparation including training, resources, individualized support and events during the adoption journey to facilitate successful adoptions. Our focus is on matching the best possible family for each unique child.

Learn more about KVC’s adoption team in this video:

Questions About Becoming an Adoptive Family

Adoption from foster care is an option for nearly any person looking to grow their family, including those who are single, who work full-time or stay home, have children already or don’t, 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
  • Complete 30 hours of free training with MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) Foundations
  • Cleared background checks
  • A commitment to making a difference

Characteristics of a good adoptive parent include:

  • Being stable, mature, dependable and flexible
  • Having the ability to advocate for children and be committed to making a difference
  • Being a team player with your family or child welfare worker

Contact us if you’re considering becoming an adoptive family for children without a place to call home. We can answer any questions you have and we’ll support you every step of the way.

Yes! Adoptive parents can be married, single, in a relationship, widowed, or divorced. However, if a couple is unmarried, only one partner can officially adopt the child.

Yes! You can adopt if you live in an apartment, duplex, condominium, single-family home or mobile home. Your home just needs to meet state safety standards and have enough bedroom space for all household members, including the adopted children.

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.

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. KVC provides 24/7 support to help families navigate any challenges that arise.

At KVC Kansas, we specialize in matching children in foster care with compassionate, dedicated adoptive families. Our comprehensive support includes:

  • Pre-Adoption Training: MAPP Foundation classes prepare families for the unique aspects of adopting from foster care.
  • Ongoing Support: While you navigate the adoption process, our caseworkers will walk alongside you every step of the way.
  • Matching Services: We carefully match children with families based on their needs and the family’s strengths.
  • Post-Adoption Support: Our support doesn’t end with adoption finalization. We provide ongoing services to ensure stability, including therapy and educational support.

Yes, during the adoption process, you can negotiate with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) regarding the child’s eligibility for a medical card, a monthly subsidy, or a one-time amount for a specific expense. These negotiations depend on the child’s needs and behaviors.

Post-adoption, you may qualify for tax credits. Be sure to check with an accountant for specific details.

Additional Questions

Here are a few of the many available websites containing information about adoption.

North American Council on Adoptable Children – Founded in 1974 by adoptive parents, the North American Council on Adoptable Children is committed to meeting the needs of waiting children and the families who adopt them.  Through advocacy, education, adoption support, and leadership development in the U.S. and Canada, NACAC helps to reform systems, alter viewpoints, and change lives.

Spaulding Resource Center – This multi-faceted organization provides help to children who wait the longest for permanency and support services for their adoptive, foster and kinship families. Nationwide, Spaulding’s Resource Center provides training, consultation and informational materials for professionals, organizations and parents.

National Adoption Center – Research adoption information in our resource library. Order adoption books through our adoption bookstore or subscribe to our free e-zine. Post a message or chat with other adoptive families.  You will also want to introduce your children to the Adoption Clubhouse, a unique website where children can learn about adoption and express their thoughts about adoption.

Adopting.org – Information and education for adoptive parents meeting everyday and unusual challenges. Find resources to help you team up with doctors, teachers, and therapists. Hear what others have to say about the search for birth family and other sensitive issues.

Adoptivefamilies.com  – Adoptive Families, the award-winning national adoption magazine, is the leading adoption information source for families before, during, and after adoption.

Resource for Parents Welcoming an Adopted Child Into Their Home – Practical tips to help caregivers and families during and after the adoption process.

The following books are recommended by and available through the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Adoption.

Benjamin Bear Gets A New Family by Deborah Berry Joy – This children’s book deals in story-book form with the feelings many children experience resulting from their birth parents’ inability to provide care for them, as well as feelings related to their subsequent adoption. Opportunities and guidelines are provided for discussion.

The Long Journey Home by Richard Delaney – A children’s book that facilitates the discussion of grief and loss along with the desire to search for biological links.

Adoption is for Always by Linda Walvoord Girard – This book helps children uncover and explore their questions and concerns about adoption in a safe and loving way.

A Koala for Katie by Jonathan London – This book explores adoption in a “child’s own” language and helps reassure the child is loved. The book offers parents the opportunity to explore and reinforce their love for their child.

We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Jane Kates and Featuring Jim Henson’s Sesame Street Muppets – The colorful characters from “Sesame Street” teach young children about racial differences and harmony. This book can assist parents who have adopted transracially explore the richness of differences with their children.

We See the Moon by Carrie A. Kitze – This book begins the life-long dialog between parents and children about adoption.

At Home in This World by Jean MacLeod – In this book, a preadolescent girl tells her story about what she remembers and understands of her young life before and after adoption. It addresses the underlying feelings and emotions that surround adoption.

I Don’t Have Your Eyes by Carrie Kitze – This book is for a child who may look or feel different for whatever reason – being in a foster care placement, having stepparents, and/or being adopted. It explores and celebrates the differences within families, as well as the similarities that connect them to one another.

Robert Lives with his Grandparents by Martha Whitmore Hickman – This book deals with the struggles that youth face when they go to live with their grandparents because their mother and father are unable to care for them.

Henry the Hermit Crab: A Storybook-Work for Children with Attachment Issues by Deborah Berry Joy – This children’s book deals with the issues of attachment. It allows the child to write their own story and has questions to encourage the development of the story.

Did My First Mother Love Me? A Story for an Adopted Child by Kathryn Ann Miller

I Wasn’t Done Loving You Yet. A Book for Grieving Teens by Sandi Dahm

Our Home Is Your Home. A Journaling Tool For Foster Kids by Sandi Dahm

Do You Know What Adoption Means? My Coloring Book by Carol Rippey.