If you are considering adopting in Indiana, you may want to know more about the foster to adopt process. According to Together We Rise, there are over 100,000 children waiting for adoption in the foster care system in the United States. Foster care provides a temporary, safe living situation for children who are unsafe in their current environment. Sometimes the placement is temporary, but in some cases children in foster care will become eligible for adoption.
If you want to adopt, fostering to adopt is a possible route.
What is fostering to adopt?
One of the positive aspects of fostering to adopt is that you get a chance to live and care for the child or children you may be considering adopting before the adoption takes place. You must first follow the process to become a foster parent. These are some of the requirements Indiana Foster Care outlines for potential foster parents:
- Must complete a background and criminal history check
- Must be 21 or older
- Must be financially stable and rent or own appropriate housing
- Must complete all training courses, first aid and CPR
- Must show home stability, including in married or cohabiting relationships
- Must successfully complete a home study assessment with an approved licensing agency
What is the next step?
If you decide to adopt a child or children that you are fostering, you must have the adoption finalized. While you may have completed some of the adoption requirements during the process of becoming a foster parent, final visits, paperwork, and legalization of the adoption is the final step. According to AdoptUSKids, birth relatives rarely challenge a foster adoption after legalization; after this final process, you can focus on creating your permanent new family.
