Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

Use your smartphone to http://www.childwelfare.gov

access this factsheet online.

FACTSHEET 

FOR FAMILIES

February 2012

Foster Parents 

Considering Adoption

What’s Inside:

• Differences between foster parenting

and adopting

• Advantages of foster parent adoption

• Strategies for foster/adoptive families 

• Conclusion

• Resources

• References

If you’re a foster parent and considering adopting 

a child, children, or youth currently in your care, 

you’re not alone. In fact, foster parent adoptions 

account for more than half the adoptions of 

children from foster care. According to the national 

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting 

System (AFCARS), in FY 2010, 53 percent of 

children adopted from foster care were adopted by 

their foster parents (U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, 2011). 
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Foster parents who open their hearts and 

homes to a child in need may develop 

relationships as strong as those with their 

birth children. Adoption of children and 

youth by foster parents is increasingly 

common, and deciding whether adoption 

is right for you and your family can raise 

a lot of questions. This factsheet is written 

for foster parents, like you, considering 

adopting a child or children in their care.

While this factsheet does not address 

the specifics of how to adopt, it provides 

information on the differences between 

foster care and adoption, and it explores 

some of the factors you should consider 

before deciding to adopt. 

Differences Between 

Foster Parenting 

and Adopting 

There are significant differences between 

being a foster parent and an adoptive 

parent. 

Legal Differences

• Foster care is intended to be temporary 

care for children and youth unable to 

live with their parents because of neglect, 

abuse, parent incarceration, or other 

issues. However, when reunification with 

birth parents or adoption by another 

relative isn’t possible, foster parent 

adoption becomes a viable option. 

Adoption is a lifetime legal and emotional 

responsibility. 

• Foster parents have no legal parental 

rights, but when you adopt, you acquire 

the same legal rights and responsibilities 

for your adopted child as parents have 

for their birth children. The child is no 

longer in the State’s custody but is a full, 

legal member of your family. 

Financial Differences

• As a foster parent, you receive a stipend 

or reimbursement for the care you 

provide. With adoption, that assistance 

changes. 

• One of the misconceptions about 

adoption is that it’s expensive. In reality, 

foster care adoption is very affordable 

(Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, 

n.d.). You aren’t expected to carry the 

financial load alone. In many instances, 

Federal and State assistance programs are 

available during and after the adoption 

process. Of children adopted from 

foster care in 2010, 90 percent received 

some form of adoption assistance (U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, 2011). See the Resources 

section of this factsheet for additional 

information on adoption costs.

• Most children and youth in foster care 

are covered by the Federal Medicaid 

program. Your child also may be eligible 

for medical assistance from your State 

after adoption (National Foster Parent 

Association [NFPA], 2009). 

• Even if families receive adoption 

assistance or a subsidy, adoptive families 

are still responsible for everyday financial 

obligations such as child care and 

extracurricular activities.
Foster Parents Considering Adoption

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• Bonds with caregivers, even abusive 

caregivers, are extremely strong. 

Additionally, past abuse or neglect may 

be difficult to detect as children in a 

temporary environment may not have 

felt comfortable enough to confide in 

others (Sullivan & Lasley, 2010). 

• Children or youth may experience 

conflicting feelings between love for the 

biological family and growing affection 

for and a sense of security with their 

foster/adoptive parents.

• Sometimes, children or youth struggle 

to fully commit to adoption unless they 

know their birth families are all right 

and that being adopted is acceptable. 

Connections and contact between foster/

adoptive parents and birth parents can 

sometimes ease the transition (Riggs, 

2007). 

• If your child is a regular user of social 

media, you may want to explore positive 

ways to use Facebook and other sites 

to maintain healthy contact between 

your child and his or her birth family 

members. Although statistics are not 

yet available to document the number 

of adopted people and birth parents 

who find each other through these sites, 

anecdotal evidence suggests that it is a 

growing trend.

See the Resources section of this factsheet 

for resources on dealing with attachment 

issues. 

Full Decision-Making Responsibility 

• While a child is in foster care, decisionmaking is shared by the agency, foster 

parents, and perhaps the birth parents. 

• When a child is adopted, the adoptive 

parents take full responsibility for making 

decisions about issues such as school 

enrollment, travel outside the State or 

country, birth family visitation, and 

more. While some families may choose to 

continue to share some decision-making 

and visitation with the birth family or 

relatives to benefit the child, the adoptive 

family has the ultimate decision-making 

responsibility after the adoption. 

Attachment Issues 

You likely dealt with, and perhaps continue 

to deal with, attachment issues after your 

child or youth joined your family through 

foster care. Attachment is formed through 

more than just providing food, shelter, and 

clothing; it’s formed through consistent 

and predictable interaction—smiles, 

hugs, conversation, etc.—and it plays an 

important role in physical, emotional, 

mental, and psychological development 

(Association for Treatment and Training 

in the Attachment of Children [ATTACh], 

n.d.). However, addressing attachment 

issues isn’t a linear process. There may be 

new or recurring issues as your foster child 

or youth becomes a permanent member of 

your family. Bear in mind: 

• The idea of permanence with a foster/

adoptive family and the termination of 

the birth parents’ parental rights may 

trigger intense grief or a sense of loss. 
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• Approximately 408,000 children are 

in foster care in the United States, and 

it’s estimated that 107,000 are eligible 

for adoption. 

• In FY 2010, about 53,000 children 

were adopted from foster care. Of 

those children: 

○ 53 percent were adopted by foster 

parents.

○ 32 percent were adopted by other 

relatives.

○ 15 percent were adopted by 

nonrelatives.

• Of the parents who adopt from foster 

care, 67 percent are married couples 

and 28 percent are single-parent 

families. 

• Of the children in foster care: 

○ 43 percent are White.

○ 25 percent are African-American.

○ 21 percent are Hispanic (U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, 2011).

DATA ON FOSTER 

PARENT ADOPTION Advantages of Foster 

Parent Adoption 

Compared to other kinds of adoption, 

foster parent adoption offers the advantage 

of familiarity to the adopting family, the 

child, and the birth family. You can build 

on existing relationships because you 

may already be familiar with the child’s 

personality, family and medical history, 

education plan, and other important aspects 

of his or her life. Additionally: 

• Foster parents usually know about a 

child’s background and experiences and 

know what behaviors to expect. If the 

foster parents have sufficient background 

information on the child, as well as some 

knowledge about child development 

and behavior, they are better able to 

understand and respond to the child’s 

needs in a positive and appropriate way. 

• Foster parents usually have fewer 

fantasies and fears about the child’s 

birth family because they often have 

met and know them as real people with 

real strengths and problems. They may 

have previously partnered with the birth 

family to work for the child’s return.

• Foster parents have a better 

understanding of their role and 

relationship with the agency—and 

hopefully a good relationship with their 

caseworker.

• Some foster parents participate in 

concurrent planning in which adoption 

may be one of the goals. If so, some of 
Foster Parents Considering Adoption

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the necessary steps toward adoption may 

have already been taken (NFPA, 2009).

While children and youth benefit the most 

from foster parent adoption, this type of 

adoption offers a number of advantages for 

others as well. 

•	 Adoptive parents: One of the biggest 

advantages of adopting your foster child 

or youth is seeing your child achieve 

permanency and complete the placement 

process. Foster children and youth don’t 

always stay with one family and can’t 

always be reunited with birth families. 

When you adopt your foster child, 

children, or youth, you and the child are 

granted the permanent protection of your 

relationship, and you both have a new, 

permanent family relationship—in every 

sense of the word. 

•	 Children: Even very young infants 

may grieve the loss of familiar sights, 

sounds, smells, and touch of a family 

when they must move. Being adopted by 

foster parents means the child or youth 

won’t have to leave familiar foster family 

members, friends, pets, school, and 

home. The biggest change for the child 

is the security that comes with having a 

permanent family and home. 

•	 Birth families: Foster parent adoption 

also benefits birth families, including 

siblings and other relatives, by allowing 

them to know who is permanently caring 

for their loved one. Depending on the 

openness of the adoption, birth families 

may have ongoing contact with the child 

or youth and opportunities to maintain 

relationships and share family histories. 

WHAT IS CONCURRENT 

PLANNING, AND HOW DOES 

IT BENEFIT A CHILD?

Concurrent planning is a process 

of developing one permanency 

goal, usually reunification, while 

simultaneously working toward other 

outcomes—adoption or placement with 

a legal guardian (often a relative)—in 

order to move children and youth 

more quickly from out-of-home care 

to a permanent family. Essentially, 

concurrent planning is a plan with 

several alternative options. 

The goals of concurrent planning are to: 

• Promote safety of children and youth 

• Achieve timely permanence

• Reduce the number of moves for 

children and youth 

• Allow for continued growth of 

significant relationships (National 

Resource Center for Permanency and 

Family Connections [NRCPFC], n.d.)

As of 2009, 42 States and the District 

of Columbia have statutes that address 

the issue of concurrent planning with 

language that ranges from general 

authorization to providing elements that 

must be included when developing a 

concurrent plan. 

More information on concurrent 

planning can be found on Information 

Gateway’s website: http://www.

childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_

policies/statutes/concurrent.cfm
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•	 Society: Society as a whole benefits when 

permanence is attained in lieu of youth 

aging out of foster care. Many youth 

transition out of foster care with few 

connections and little access to support, 

increasing the risk of negative outcomes 

such as jail, homelessness, substance 

abuse, and teen pregnancy (Kirk & 

Day, 2010). Research also shows that 

unemployment and underemployment 

are two common experiences among 

former foster youth. For instance:

○ A study of employment by youth 

who aged out of foster care, youth 

with a history of foster care who were 

reunited with their parents, and youth 

from low-income families found that 

those who aged out of foster care 

earned less money than their peers in 

both the other groups, their earnings 

well below the poverty line (Naccarato, 

Brophy, & Courtney, 2009). 

○ Less than 2 percent of former foster 

youth obtain a bachelor’s degree 

compared to more than 22 percent of 

all young people (Fernandes, 2008).

Open adoption, in which some kind 

of contact is maintained between the 

adoptive and birth families, may help 

the child adjust to being adopted 

(Riggs, 2007). Maintaining contact with 

the child’s relatives may help a child 

understand the realities of the birth 

family’s situation and ease his or her 

worries about them. By acknowledging 

the importance of that relationship, 

foster/adoptive parents build the child’s 

self-respect and help the child open up 

about past experiences and start to heal 

old wounds. 

For more information about open 

adoption, visit the Information Gateway 

website: http://www.childwelfare.gov/

adoption/adoptive/contacts.cfm

WHAT IS AN OPEN ADOPTION?

Strategies for Foster/

Adoptive Families 

What are some approaches or strategies that 

may contribute to a successful adoption 

experience? All families and children are 

different, but there are some things you can 

do to smooth the adoption process.

What the Research Shows

A 2007 report from AdoptUSKids explored 

characteristics of successful adoptions 

and barriers to adoption of children with 

special needs by surveying and interviewing 
Foster Parents Considering Adoption

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adoptive parents, prospective adoptive 

parents, and adoption professionals. For the 

purposes of that study, the “special needs” 

designation referred to children who were 

over age 8, members of sibling groups, had 

specific ethnic or racial backgrounds, or 

children for whom agencies had difficulties 

finding adoptive families (McRoy, 2007).1

To identify characteristics of successful 

adoptions, 161 parents who had adopted 

1 to 14 years earlier reported on their 

experiences. Parents volunteered the 

following factors as contributing to a 

successful adoption: 

• They were committed to the child and 

the child’s adoption into the family. 

• They were able to fully integrate the child 

into the family and not treat the child 

differently.

• They developed and practiced good 

parenting skills, including patience, 

consistency, and flexibility.

• They sought out resources, information, 

and training when they needed help.

• They had a network of social support.

• They had realistic expectations of the 

child.

These adoptive parents also reported on 

postadoption services and supports. The 

most common were financial support, such 

as adoption subsidies and financial help 

with medical and dental care. The majority 

of families also noted that services such as 

counseling, therapy for the child or family, 

support groups, and training were helpful.

Conclusion

It’s important to learn as much as possible 

about the child you want to adopt and the 

adoption process. Ask your caseworker or 

agency about resources and trainings, and 

make sure you are connected with other 

families and supports.

All children deserve loving, permanent 

homes. Making your family the 

permanent family for a child, children, 

or youth currently in your care is a 

lifetime commitment that requires 

careful consideration but yields a host of 

advantages. 

See the Resources section on the next page 

for additional materials to aid you in your 

consideration. 

1 States have different definitions of “special needs.” To find 

out about your State, read Child Welfare Information Gateway’s 

“Special Needs” Adoption: What Does It Mean? at 

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/specialneeds

Suggested Citation:

Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

(2012). Foster parents considering adoption. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, Children’s 

Bureau.
Foster Parents Considering Adoption http://www.childwelfare.gov

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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_fospar.cfm

Resources

Child Welfare Information Gateway offers the following resources:

• The National Foster Care & Adoption Directory, including lists of foster and adoptive 

support groups in each State: http://www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad

• Information on adoption assistance by State: http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

adopt_assistance

• Information on adoption costs: http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive/

expenses.cfm

• Selecting and Working With an Adoption Therapist, with additional information on 

attachment: http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_therapist.cfm

• Information on attachment and attachment disorders: http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/

impact/development/attachment.cfm

• Adopting Children through a Public Agency (Foster Care): http://www.childwelfare.gov/

adoption/adoptive/foster_care.cfm

• After Adoption from Foster Care: http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_parenting/

foster

More information on the Federal adoption tax credit can be found on the North American 

Council on Adoptable Children website: http://www.nacac.org/taxcredit/taxcredit.html

Information on the benefits of foster care adoption can be found on the National Council 

for Adoption’s website: https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/images/stories/NCFA_ADOPTION_

ADVOCATE_NO35.pdf

A webinar on bridging the gap between foster and birth parents can be found on the National 

Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections website: http://www.nrcpfc.org/

webcasts/18.html

References

Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children. (n.d.). What is 

attachment? Retrieved from http://www.attach.org/whatisattachment.htm
Foster Parents Considering Adoption http://www.childwelfare.gov

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. (n.d.). Adoption costs information. Retrieved from 

http://davethomasfoundation.org/about-foster-care-adoption/myths-and-misconceptions

Fernandes, A. (2008). Youth transitioning from foster care: Background, Federal programs, and issues 

for Congress. Retrieved from the FosteringConnections website: 

http://www.fosteringconnections.org/tools/assets/files/CRS-older-youth-report.pdf

Kirk, R., & Day, A. (2010). Increasing college access for youth aging out of foster care: 

Evaluation of a summer camp program for foster youth transitioning from high school to 

college. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(7), 1173-1174.

McRoy, R. G. (2007). Barriers and success factors in adoption from foster care: Perspectives of 

families and staff. Retrieved from the AdoptUSKids website: http://adoptuskids.org/_assets/

files/NRCRRFAP/resources/barriers-and-success-factors-family-and-staff-perspectives.pdf

Naccarato, T., Brophy, M., & Courtney, M. (2009). Employment outcomes of foster youth: The 

results from the Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of foster youth. Children and 

Youth Services Review, 32(4), 551-559.

National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. (n.d.). Web-based 

concurrent planning toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.nrcpfc.org/cpt/overview.htm

National Foster Parent Association & Baldino, R. (2009). Success as a foster parent: Everything you 

need to know about foster care. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Riggs, D. (2007). Facilitated openness can benefit children adopted from care. Retrieved from the 

North American Council on Adoptable Children website: http://www.nacac.org/adoptalk/

facilitated_openness.html

Sullivan, R., & Lasley, E. (2010). Fear in love: Attachment, abuse, and the developing brain.

Retrieved from the Dana Foundation website: http://dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.

aspx?id=28926

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). The AFCARS report: Preliminary FY 

2010 estimates as of June 2011 (18). Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/

stats_research/afcars/tar/report18.htm

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau