e-mail
Many times parents wonder if they should do foster care to adoption or “straight” adoption. There is a great difference between the two and it is a decision only you can make.
What are the differences? There really is only one difference but it is a big one. My husband and I have only done “straight” adoption, which means that we have only taken in children that we intended to adopt.
With foster to adopt you are taking in foster children and may potentially adopt one or multiple children who come into your home. Some parents choose to go this route because they feel they are more likely to get a younger child and that is potentially true, but not a guarantee. Chances are far more likely that you will be able to adopt an infant by doing foster care to adoption. It is very rare for an infant to be placed in a pre-adoptive home unless they are part of a sibling group. However this means that you will be taking in more than one child.
The other issue with foster to adopt is that you have the potential to have the child returned to their birth parents, which is less of a risk with adoption placement only. In many cases there is no risk since most times the parental rights have been terminated by the time the child is placed in a pre-adoptive home. If you are worried about being able to let a child go, then foster to adopt is not for you.
Some people start out doing foster care and choose to adopt a child they have had in their home when their status changes to adoptive placement rather than transitioning the child to a new pre-adoptive home. Others do foster care for years and never adopt any of the children that cross their doorstep. Doing foster care does not mean that you have adopt any child. Some foster parents have children stay in their home for ten years or more, but the children are never adopted.
Here in Wisconsin you must be a licensed foster parent in order to take in a child for an adoptive placement. This does not mean that you have to take in foster children. Because the children are coming into your home from foster care, you must follow the same guidelines, which means obtaining the foster care license.
This is not a decision to be taken lightly, and something you and your partner should agree on. If you have any questions, discuss your options with your placing worker to be sure that you understand exactly what you are agreeing to.
my husband and I are trying to adopt a single child…little girl age 5 to 10. Not so easy…after sending over 100 home study to different social workers, we have never been a potential match. we have tryed in our state of CA and almost every other state out of CA. it looks like every time we inquire about a child…they have been matched.
should we start thinking about maybe fostering hoping that the child will be leagally free for adoption and take the risk…do you think that foster parents have better chances than straight adopt?
Thank you for any advice..