Adopting from Foster Care

What is the process for adopting from foster care? How long does it take, do you have to foster first, can you adopt a child from another state, should you work with a private or public agency? Join our guests Jennifer Deazvedo, waiting child adoption coordinator for Children’s Connection Inc.; Dr. Dixie Davis, Executive Director of The Adoption Exchange and the Wednesday’s Child Foundation which recruits families for children in foster care; and Jennifer M. Phillips, adoption supervisor with Lutheran Social Services of Southern New England.

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The racial, age, and gender statistics for children currently available for adoption in the US foster care system.
How do children end up in governmental care?
Are infants or babies available to adopt from foster care?
Are pre-school aged children available for adoption from foster care?
How many of the children that are available for adoption through foster care are a part of a sibling group?
Can single women adopt from foster care?
Can people living in an apartment adopt from foster care?
Do you need to own your own house in order to adopt? Is home ownership required for adoption from foster care?
Can same sex couples, gays and lesbians adopt?
What type of training is required to adopt from foster care? How long does this training last?
Who performs the home study for adopting from foster care?
Can you use your foster care adoption home study for either domestic infant or international adoption?
How to prepare children already in the home for the adoption of a new child?
How long does it take to terminate parental rights?
How long does a state have to find a permanent home for a child?
Should you use a private adoption agency that is under contract with the state to place children from foster care, or should you use the public county agency?
How does foster to adopt differ from adopting a child that is legally free for adoption?
How can prospective adoptive parents make sure they have all the information available about a child they are considering adopting?
Can you adopt a child from foster care in another state?
Can you adopt across state lines?
Are adoptions from foster care open?
Do children adopted from foster care have continued contact with their birth family or birth grandparents or siblings?
Should you use photolistings to find children available to adopt?
What type of subsidies are available for families that adopt from foster care?
Will children adopted from foster care continue to have a Medicaid card?
What type of post adoption support should adoptive parents look for from an adoption agency?