Adopting Foster Children

Sometimes, adopters do not want to adopt an infant. They may be nontraditional adopters who do not have high chances of being placed with an infant or they may just have not have the kind of time and resources to raise a child from infancy. In these cases, the adopters may consider older child adoption from the foster system. Adopting foster children is also called public adoption. There are over 100,000 children in the foster care system who are waiting for adoptive families. There are rarely any adoption fees outside of the home study, which costs about $2,500 and is usually eligible for reimbursement after the public adoption is finalized.

To adopt a foster child, one must pass a home study and, depending on the state laws, may need to also foster a child for a certain amount of time before being able to adopt him or her. If a potential adopter is to foster a child first, then he or she can ask to be part of a fost-adopt or legal risk program. These are designed to place foster children who are likely to be adoptable and not reunited with their birth family in potentially permanent homes.

Adopting a child from foster care is important because the developmental time during a child's first 18 years can influence the rest of their lives.