[seabird]

Hi, I am new and wanting to know how foster to adopt works. Do they place children they know are more likely needed to be adopted? I know there is no guarantee. But does it happen and how does it work? Thanks.

[c.a]

Originally Posted by seabird

Do they place children they know are more likely needed to be adopted?

When a child is initially removed from bio family it is because there is a risk of immediate harm. They have to be placed and the state typically has three options: kinship, foster home or program.

Then it is up to the bio parents to work the case plan and have the children returned or not work the case plan and eventually have parental rights terminated (also known as TPR) (and it takes a long time - two years or longer to get to a termination trial is not unusual).

If a child has been in a stable placement (family or foster home) then after TPR, that home will have the first option to adopt - some states will let family come forward at this point, some will not.

If family and foster home do not intend to adopt, then the state begins a search for another adoptive resource.

When babies go into care - the goal is usually not changed to adoption for at least one year. This kind of placement is sometimes called "legal risk". The foster home takes in the baby hoping to adopt but knowing that if the bio parents work their plan - the baby will be reunified with birth parents.

If you are looking for no legal risk (a child who is available for adoption) the referrals are likely to be older children (toddlers at least). My son went into care at 4 months - was placed with us at 11 months - bmom agreed to TPR at 26 months - and we adopted at 30 months.

We told our CW that we want to adopt again - and we are willing to accept another legal risk. So we have a six month old baby. Right now, mom seems to be working her plan - and that is great for her and for the baby. We'll see how it goes.

Good luck.

[seabird]

Thank you C.A. So a legal risk placement is only for babies? Do they do this for toddlers? We are hoping to adopt one day a girl 3-5 years of age.

[c.a]

Originally Posted by seabird

Thank you C.A. So a legal risk placement is only for babies? Do they do this for toddlers? We are hoping to adopt one day a girl 3-5 years of age.

Not quite - a child is legal risk until the birth parents rights have been terminated. If a child goes into foster care at any age - baby, toddler or older child - they will likely be legal risk for a couple of years (at least).

Children who go into care as babies - and then become legally available for adoption are often adopted by their foster parents. As in my situation, by the time my son became legally available - we had been raising him for more than a year. We were all attached and could not imaging letting him go to another family.

But that doesn't mean that you won't get a child 3-5. There are many reasons that a foster family may decide not to adopt. Those children then are available for families who have applied for straight adoption.

[OakShannon]

c.a. gave you a good answer. Just to add to that:

To some extent, the answer to your question also depends upon the state you live in. In some states, there is a different process to certify fost-adopt parents and yes, they will place children with you that they believe will need to be adopted. In other states, they do not handle cases this way. You simply become a foster parent and, if a child in your care ends up needing an adoptive home (the case goes to TPR and there are no relatives who come forward to adopt) then you are given the option to adopt the child. So you will want to ask your social worker how it works in your area.

In my state, CA, we were certified as fost-adopt parents and we were asked what level of legal risk we were open to. BUT - there is always a risk, even if the case initially looks straightforward.

My son was placed with us as a risk-adopt placement when he was 3 months old. TPR was filed when he was 8 months old and we have a date to finalize his adoption shortly after his first birthday. This is an unusually short timeline - but it does happen. How open you are in terms of age, gender, race, drug exposure, a parent's mental illness, etc. will also have an impact on the length of time you will wait for a placement.

[fredalina]

i live in TN, and in my state there is no official "foster/adopt" or "fost/adopt", or at least not the way it was explained to us in classes. People who want to adopt only (no foster care) are theoretically only able to adopt age 9+ because that's where the most legally-free children are and where the most need for adopters is.

It is the department's policy that "the first placement is the best placement is the last placement", meaning that they are trying to do away with emergency foster care and with putting kids in group homes until they can find long-term foster homes. In a perfect world, the first foster family a child comes to live with will be the last foster family they live with before they are reunified or placed with relatives. Should the case come to TPR (in the perfect world), they would love the foster parents to be able to commit to adopting the child. Of course, there are some great foster parents who just don't want to adopt, perhaps because they feel they're too old, or their family is full already, or what have you. The department certainly isn't eliminating those people as foster parents, but that's the direction they're going in.

So, depending on how you look at it, there is either 0% fost/adopt or 100% fost/adopt in TN.

It varies widely by state and probably by county, so you definitely want to talk to someone with your state or county. And be prepared that if you talk to 3 different department workers, you'll probably get 3 different answers (for example we were told something completely different than the 9 years plus thing i mentioned when we first called). It wasn't until our class orientation and intake that that came up (though it wasn't an issue for us as we wanted to foster anyway, for experience if nothing else).

[seabird]

thank you all. I do believe in our state/county that there is a license for foster-adopt. I just wasn't sure how it worked. I guess the wait could be long depending on what we are willing to accept. From reading the boards, I am gathering a lot of young children (babies) and young toddlers, that drugs would probably be involved???

[c.a]

Originally Posted by seabird

From reading the boards, I am gathering a lot of young children (babies) and young toddlers, that drugs would probably be involved???

There are lots of reasons that children are removed from their parents. With babies and toddlers it is often drugs or alcohol. Domestic violence, arrests and "failure to thrive" are also fairly common. Parents' mental health can also be an issue. This is just a little sample of why kids go into care.

If a baby tests positive for any drugs/alcohol at birth, the hospital will call the state agency. With my son the hospital called because mom has medical issues and significant cognitive delays and just could not mother.

Seabird - if you are concerned about the effect of drugs on a baby you might adopt - please read around on the forums. There are several threads that address this. There is much media "hype" about "drug babies" and it can seem scary. Please know that there are lots of children whose birth mothers used during pregnancy and are healthy, happy, thriving kids. For other kids, the in utero exposure can be mentally, emotionally and physically devastating (particularly alcohol exposure).

My current foster child is six months old. He was exposed to numerous substances during the pregnancy - and is a thriving happy baby - doesn't seem to have any effect now - but I will certainly keep my eye on him for any issues.

I think that you will find as you read the forums that there is rarely one simple answer to most questions.

Good luck.

[seabird]

Alright, I will do some reading.
Yes, I have been concerned about drug exposure etc. I feel we have a lot of love to share with a child but I can't add another child if it will severly impact my current children. I know there will be emotional things, due to loss of family etc. We are very patient people and I know we can address these things. I just don't want to do the wrong thing for our family. Would just like to add a child that needs a home, but not severe issues. Sometimes you read things on boards. and you wonder if this may not be the right thing.
Anyway, I am rambleing, thanks for your input c.a.