ADOPTION FROM THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM

Children in the Texas foster care system have been removed from their biological families due to neglect, abuse, and abandonment.  The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is charged with working with the parents of these children to help them improve their circumstances so that their children can return to a safe home environment.  If the parents are unable to make the changes needed and no relatives are available or capable of providing care to the children, unrelated adoptive families are sought. 

There are boys and girls, children of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds that are currently in the foster care system.  Some are in sibling groups that want to stay together.  And some of these children have mild to severe medical and/or emotional issues.   They all want and need Forever Families! 

Options for Adopting Children in the Foster Care System

Foster-to-Adopt - Families in this program are verified for foster care and approved for adoption.   A child is placed into your home on a legal risk basis.  You provide foster care to the child until parental rights are terminated.  If no appropriate relatives express an interest in adopting the child, you have the first option to adopt.   If you are interested in adopting a single young child (under school age), this program is your best option.  It takes about 12-18 months to terminate parental rights.  Unless the child is part of a sibling group, young children are usually adopted by their foster parents. (Click here for more information)

Adoption Only – Families in this program are only considered for children whose rights have already been terminated.  Children are placed directly from a foster home into your family at the signing of an adoption placement agreement.  These are generally children grade-school age or above, members of sibling groups, or children with special medical or emotional needs. (Click here for more information)

Family Elibility

To be eligible to adopt, a family must demonstrate that they have the following: 

• A loving, stable environment
• Realistic expectations of the children who are available for adoption
• The ability to parent children who have experienced traumatizing events
• Clear criminal history and child abuse registry checks

To initiate the process, call the LSS intake department toll-free number, 877-747-8110, or contact us at fit.inquiries@lsss.org.  One of the intake staff will explain the process in more detail and will answer all of your questions.  They will provide your orientation and send you application materials.  Once your file is complete, it will be sent to your local LSS office.  A family services worker will then contact you and initiate the home study process.

The Cost

There is no fee assessed for adopting a child from the Texas foster care system, since DFPS pays LSS for the services provided on your child’s behalf.  You are responsible for the legal fees to finalize your adoption unless the child you are adopting is eligible for adoption assistance.  If this is the case, you can arrange for your legal fees to be paid out of the non-recurring (one-time) adoption assistance program.  The cap on reimbursement from this fund is $1500. 

Foster-to-Adopt
Adoption