Adoption is a wonderful way to grow your family. Adopting from foster care has some advantages — and some extra challenges. But is adopting a newborn from foster care a realistic plan?
Advantages of adopting from foster care
Adopting a child who is in foster care has some real advantages. It can be less expensive, since many of the costs are covered by the state. The parental rights of the parents must be terminated by the court before a child in foster care becomes available for adoption, so there is less chance of a birth parent’s changing her mind or stepping in to contest the adoption late in the process.
Adopting from foster care can also be satisfying for some adoptive parents, because you can be sure that the child really needs a home. Serious attempts at reuniting the family are made before a child in foster care becomes available for adoption, and there are usually also attempts at placing the child with a relative or in their foster home before would-be adoptive parents from the outside are brought into the equation.
Adopting from foster care can also include training — in fact, it’s usually required — and parenting support of various kinds. Adoptive parents may also have more information about the child, including health records and details about family background.
Disadvantages of adopting from foster care
Children in foster care often have a history of traumatic experiences. They are also more likely to have special needs or health challenges. A newborn in foster care may have been born addicted to drugs ingested by the mom during pregnancy, for example.
In a private adoption, a birth mother can choose a family for her baby. Meetings between the birth mother and the adoptive parents are common, and the baby often comes home from the hospital to the new adoptive parents’ home. Adopting a newborn from foster care is likely to be more difficult and to involved fewer choices.
Adopting a newborn from foster care
In fact, it is rare to be able to adopt a newborn from foster care. It is unusual for infants to end up in foster care at an early age in the first place. When it happens, the Department of Human Services tries to support the birth parents and reunite them with their child. If that’s not possible, they will usually look for relatives willing to adopt the baby. These efforts take time.
The legal process of terminating parental rights takes time, too. Usually, the child will no longer be a newborn by the time he or she becomes available for adoption. If he has been in foster care from birth or early infancy, it is likely that the foster parents will choose to adopt him.
You can apply online with the Department of Human Services for approval as an adoptive family. To meet the requirements, you must be at least 21 years of age, but no more than 45 years older than the child. That is, if you want to adopt a newborn, you must be between the ages or 21 and 45. Given the length of time involved in the process of waiting for a newborn to be available under this system, 21-40 would be more realistic.
An alternative
If this doesn’t sound like a good choice, or if you have tried the process already and are ready to look at alternatives, consider a private adoption. Giving a mom a choice to place an unplanned baby in a stable, loving home is a beautiful choice, and Heimer Law is ready to help.
Inquiry Form