Foster Care Adoption

According to the most recent reporting cycle of the US foster system, almost 50,000 children were legally free to be adopted from foster care, and about 70,000 had a pending goal of adoption. These children are ready and available for permanency. They are simply waiting in the system for adoptive homes.

Almost 329,000 kids are currently in foster care while decisions are made about whether they can return to their biological families or become available for adoption. The need for both foster homes and adoptive homes is significant in the U.S. We offer more information about how to become a foster parent here. If you are considering adopting from the foster system, please read on!

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There are two general ways to adopt from foster care.

Direct Foster Care Adoption: These are children whose parental rights have already been terminated and for whom their caseworkers seek adoptive families. 29% of these kids with adoption permanency plans are 11-16 years old, and 26% are 6-10 years old. Finding permanency for older kids is particularly challenging, and the need for welcoming families is significant.

Foster to Adopt: (Also more currently called, “fostering with the intent to adopt”). In the most recent reporting cycle, more than 80% of children who entered the US foster system did so due to abuse, neglect, or caregiver substance use. In this cycle, the foster system served approximately 500,000 kids living apart from their biological parents due to family circumstances, including substance use disorders, neglect, and/or abuse. These children are placed in foster homes while state social workers work with their birth families. The goal of foster care is to heal birth families so that children can return home. Foster families are expected to work with social workers on reunification until (and if) the child’s care plan changes. Children can return to their families about half the time.

When family reunification is impossible, adoptive families are sought, and the foster family is usually given the first choice at adoption. We know that historically, approximately 25% of children in foster care will ultimately be adopted, most often by their foster families. There continue to be wide variances within states, and within counties in each state, on the willingness to work with foster families whose ultimate goal is adoption. Working with a private or a public foster agency can also impact the outcomes.

Data source: The AFCARS Dashboard

A home study and completing an adoption education course are required to adopt from foster care. You can work either with the state foster care unit (named differently in each state – Department of Family and Protective Services, Department of Social Services, Department of Children and Family Services, etc.) or a private adoption agency with a contract with the state to place foster children. The education will be the same (30-35 hours), but most people in the Creating a Family community report better pre- and post-adoption services when working with a private adoption agency. You may have to pay more, but the money can be recouped with the federal Adoption Tax Credit.

This CreatingaFamilyEd.org online course is a great introduction to how to adopt from foster care: Introduction to Foster Care Adoption

Age: According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Dashboard, this is the age breakdown of the more than 175,000 kids who entered foster care in FY 2024:

Less than 1 year old – 19%
1-5 years – 28%
6-10 years – 21%
11-16 years – 27%
17 years+ – 6%

About 27% of the kids who exited care in 2024 did so for adoption.

70% of the 50,000 children who are legally free have an adoption permanency plan. 54% of these legally free kids are between 6 and 16 years old. Many of them are part of a sibling group.

Gender: In FY2023, about 52% of the kids who were waiting to be adopted were boys, and 48% were girls. Thus far, the FY2024 dashboard data does not include a gender breakdown.

Race: Of the 50,000 legally free kids, 43% are White; 22% are Black; 21% are Hispanic; and 10% identify as two or more races.

Data source: The AFCARS Dashboard

Foster care adoption costs very little or nothing. The federal Adoption Tax Credit can usually offset any money spent on adopting from foster care. Over 90% of children adopted from foster care also receive a monthly cash subsidy, Medicaid benefits, and, in some states, in-state tuition assistance. Check out this CreatingaFamilyEd.org online course for a clear understanding of Foster Care Subsidies: What Is Reasonable and How to Negotiate.

Yes, adopting a child in foster care from out of state is usually possible with legally free children waiting for an adoptive family. It is usually easier to place children (younger and with fewer special needs) within their home state. Fostering a child with the hopes of adoption (adopting through a foster-to-adopt program) is usually not an option with children living in another state unless the child is a relative. We talked about adopting a child from foster care in another state in these two CreatingaFamilyEd.org online courses:

Children end up in foster care through no fault of their own due to mistakes made by their biological parents. Most have experienced abuse and neglect, which can have a lasting impact, but they are not damaged beyond help. Pre-adoptive parents will receive extensive education to help them parent children who have experienced early life trauma. Creating a Family also provides extensive resources for helping children heal and adopting older kids. Here are a few:

Typical Behaviors of Children Adopted From Foster Care or Internationally
Raising and Healing Abused and Neglected Kids, featuring the late Dr. Karyn Purvis
Parenting a Child that has Been Sexually Abused
Helping Children Heal from Sexual Abuse

Sources: various CreatingaFamily.org resources as linked, Adopting from Foster Care by National Council for Adoption, and the AFCARS Dashboard, FY2024.