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| Step 1: Inquire and Learn About Foster Care Adoption |
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Contact Adoption Links Worldwide to request an Adoption Partnership Inquiry packet or click on the link below to access this information. Included in the inquiry packet is a list of times, dates and locations for the informational meeting. Please click on the Self Assessment Guide below. This is a guide to help families make an informed decision regarding foster care adoption.
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| Step 2 : Come to an Informational Meeting |
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Families are encouraged to bring family, friends and anyone who may be interested in learning about foster care adoption to this meeting. There is no need to call in advance of the meeting, just stop by at one of the times listed on the schedule in the inquiry packet. The informational meeting is to give families information regarding the issues facing children who are in the foster care system, to answer any questions they may have and to provide families with the education to make a good decision about whether to pursue the adoption of a foster care child. See training schedule.
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| Step 3: Register and Attend PRIDE Training Classes |
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At the information meeting families will receive the schedule for the PRIDE training classes. PRIDE is a 9 week, 27 hour foster care preparation and education training required for families adopting through the foster care system. The training classes are for parents who have parented before and first time parents. There are many challenges children who have been in foster care face, such as a history of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to drugs or alcohol before birth and the loss of being moved from their birth family. This class also includes training to become a foster parent because any state ward placed in your home even if the purpose is for adoption is considered a foster child until the adoption is finalized in the courts. This does not mean you have to accept other foster children or that there is still birth parent involvement. The child may be legally free for adoption but is still considered a foster child when placed in your home until the adoption is finalized by the court system.
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| Step 4: Complete a Home Study |
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Once families complete the PRIDE training a social worker will be assigned to them by the Department of Health and Human Services to complete the Home Study. The Home Study process typically occurs at the social worker's office as well as family's home for a minimum of six hours total to determine what type of child would be the best match for their family as well as determining the family's appropriateness for foster care adoption. The Home Study will assess the family's strengths, limitations, financial stability, emotional stability and the safety of the home environment. Some of the documents that are required for the written portion of the Home Study include personal references, employment references, medical reports, financial statements, and background checks. The Home Study must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services before a child can be placed in your home. Once approved the family's social worker will license their home and the family can begin looking at waiting children.
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| Step 5: Start Looking at Waiting Children |
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Once a family has an approved Home Study and has completed licensing they may begin looking at waiting children's profiles to find a good match for their family. Families will typically receive phone calls from case managers looking for adoptive homes for children. Once a match is found, case workers will typically encourage families to talk to previous placements, meet with the child's therapist, and look through the child's case file to learn as much as possible about that child to help them make an informed decision.
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| Step 6: Placement of a Child |
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After making a commitment to the child, the family and child will begin pre-placement visits before the child is placed in the home. The frequency and location of the visits will depend on the comfort of the child and the adoptive family.
Post Placement Supervision is required after the child comes home. Get more information on these services
The finalization of the adoption can begin after the child has been in the family's home for six months.
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Frequently Asked Questions • Meet the Kids
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| Foster Child Adoption: Helpful Links |
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