[shallie]

If you were a foster-to-adopt family and were offered Permanent Managing Conservatorship, what would you do? Why is it a good thing or a bad thing?

[alex9179]

Funny you should post this question, because I have a similar situation.

PMC in Tx means that you have legal and financial responsibility until the child(ren) is 18. You may still apply for medicaid for the child, but any other financial/medical/therapeutic support is yours to bear. The parental rights of the bio parents are still in force and they may have access to any records regarding the child.
If you adopt later, you will not be eligible for any adoption subsidy, free college in Tx, therapeutic resources to help with integration. These are available to "special needs" but certain ages, members of minority group, and sibling groups are under this heading.
This program is only available to those who adopt children in conservancy of the state.

PMC is considered permanent, but the parent(s) or their family can sue you for custody at any point. The potential for ghastly legal bills is definitely there.

We are not foster-to-adopt, but kinship providers. So we are dealing with a lot of familial emotion. Even so, we've decided that PMC is not in the kids or our best interest. I feel that the "permanent" used in this is just a word and doesn't really offer adequate permanency to the family.

If the child is a teenager and chooses not to be adopted, then I would see it's benefit. Not for young ones, though.

You definitely need to ascertain the reason behind PMC before making a final decision, but I would not do it as an avenue to adoption.