To adopt a child from foster care, you apply through your state’s public child welfare agency or a contracted private agency, complete required training and a home study, get matched with a child whose birth parents’ rights have already been terminated, foster the child through a supervised placement period, and then finalize the adoption before a judge. The process typically runs 12 to 24 months from application to final decree, and in most cases it costs little to nothing because the state funds it.
Roughly 70,400 children in U.S. foster care are waiting to be adopted. Their birth parents’ rights have been legally terminated by a court, usually after removal for abuse or neglect, so the children are legally free to join a new permanent family.1Administration for Children and Families. 2024 AFCARS Dashboard
Who Can Adopt
Eligibility rules vary by state, but the baseline is consistent. Most jurisdictions require applicants to be at least 21, though some set the floor at 18 or 25. Single adults, married couples, and unmarried partners can all apply regardless of sexual orientation. Agencies evaluate whether your household can provide a stable, nurturing environment; they are not looking for a specific family structure.
You need housing that is safe and can accommodate a child, with functional smoke detectors, secure storage for medications and hazardous materials, and enough bedroom space. You need to show reliable income sufficient to cover a child’s daily needs. There is no wealth requirement, and no specific earnings threshold you have to hit.
Background Checks and Disqualifying Convictions
Federal law requires every prospective adoptive parent, and every other adult in the home, to pass a fingerprint-based check through the national criminal databases before final approval.2Child Welfare Information Gateway. Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 – P.L. 109-248 Agencies also run child abuse and neglect registry checks in every state where you or another adult in the home has lived during the past five years.
Some convictions are permanent bars. A felony conviction at any time for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, any crime against children (including child pornography), or a violent crime such as rape, sexual assault, or homicide disqualifies you with no possibility of waiver. A felony conviction within the past five years for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense also disqualifies you.3GovInfo. 42 USC 671 – State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Older drug convictions outside that five-year window will not automatically disqualify you, but they will come up in the review.
The Application and Documents You’ll Need
Start by contacting your state’s child welfare department or a contracted private child-placing agency to request the adoption application. Completing it means providing your full employment history, personal references, and written authorization for the background checks.
You will also submit medical evaluations from a licensed physician confirming you are in adequate physical and mental health to parent, along with financial records: recent tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements showing stable income. Some agencies charge modest administrative or fingerprinting fees at this stage. Amounts vary by jurisdiction, and these fees are often reimbursable later.
Training and the Home Study
Every prospective adoptive parent completes pre-service training before receiving a child. The two most common programs are the Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) and Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education (PRIDE). They typically run 21 to 30 hours and cover trauma-informed care, attachment, child development, and the realities of parenting a child who has experienced abuse or neglect.
After training, a licensed caseworker conducts your home study. This involves in-depth interviews about your family history, parenting philosophy, discipline approach, and reasons for adopting. The caseworker also physically inspects your home for compliance with health and safety standards, checking things like water temperature, medication storage, and smoke detectors.
The home study ends in a written report that either recommends or declines approval. That report is the document certifying your home as an approved placement. Home studies are generally valid for one to two years; if you have not been matched within that window, or your circumstances change significantly, the study needs updating.
Matching and Placement
Once approved, your profile enters a database that caseworkers search when a legally free child needs a permanent home. Matching weighs the child’s specific needs against your family’s strengths. A child who needs consistent access to specialized medical care, for example, will be matched with a family able to manage those appointments and treatments.
When a potential match is identified, you receive the child’s full case file. That typically includes psychological evaluations, medical records, educational history, and birth family background. Most states require agencies to disclose this information so you can make an informed decision about whether you are equipped to meet the child’s needs.4GovInfo. Providing Background Information to Adoptive Parents Ask hard questions before accepting the match; disruptions later are usually rooted in a file that was not read carefully.
Older children in many jurisdictions must also consent to their own adoption. Most states set that requirement at age 12 or 14, though a few require consent as young as 10.
In some cases, a child is placed with prospective adoptive parents before birth parents’ rights have been fully terminated. These are called legal risk placements, and they carry the possibility that you could lose custody if the termination is overturned or a birth relative comes forward. You will sign an acknowledgment of the risk before accepting the placement.
Finalizing the Adoption in Court
After placement, a post-placement supervision period begins. A caseworker visits your home at least once every 30 days to assess how the child is adjusting and how your family is functioning.5AdoptUSKids. Receiving an Adoptive Placement – Section: Post-Placement Supervision Period This period usually lasts a minimum of six months, and longer if the child is still stabilizing or legal issues arise.
Once supervision is complete and the caseworker’s reports support finalization, your attorney files an adoption petition with the court, attaching the home study, placement reports, and caseworker recommendation. Court filing fees vary by jurisdiction. The finalization hearing itself is usually brief. A judge reviews the record, confirms the adoption serves the child’s best interests, and signs a final decree of adoption. That decree legally establishes you as the child’s parent as though the child were born to you. Afterward, the state’s vital records office issues a new birth certificate listing you as the parent.
What It Costs, and What You Get Back
Adopting from foster care through a public agency is almost always free. The state funds the process, and most families pay little to nothing out of pocket.6AdoptUSKids. What Is the Cost of Adoption From Foster Care? Federal law also provides for reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses, including attorney fees, court costs, and travel, at a 50 percent match rate up to $2,000 per child. When siblings are adopted, each child gets a separate $2,000 cap.7eCFR. 45 CFR 1356.41 – Nonrecurring Expenses of Adoption
Adoption Assistance for Children With Special Needs
Under federal law, a child is classified as having “special needs” for adoption assistance purposes when a specific factor makes placement without financial help unlikely. That factor might be the child’s age, a medical condition, a physical or emotional disability, membership in a sibling group, or ethnic background.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 673 – Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Program The label is common among foster care adoptions.
A child who qualifies is eligible for ongoing adoption assistance. That typically includes a monthly subsidy negotiated between the family and the agency (capped at what the child would have received in foster care) and Medicaid coverage, which often continues until the child turns 18. Former foster youth who were enrolled in Medicaid and in foster care when they turned 18 qualify for continued Medicaid coverage until age 26, with no income test.9Medicaid.gov. Medicaid and CHIP FAQs – Coverage of Former Foster Care Children
The Federal Adoption Tax Credit
Families who adopt from foster care can claim the federal adoption tax credit. For the 2026 tax year, the maximum credit is $17,670 per qualifying child, and up to $5,120 of that amount is refundable, meaning you can receive it even if your tax liability is zero.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 For 2025, the credit began phasing out at a modified adjusted gross income of $259,191 and was fully eliminated at $299,190. The 2026 phase-out thresholds adjust for inflation.11Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
A special rule matters here. When you adopt a child with special needs and the adoption finalizes during the tax year, you can claim the full $17,670 credit regardless of your actual expenses, even if you spent nothing.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8839 (2025) Since most children adopted from foster care qualify as having special needs, most foster care adoptive families receive a five-figure tax credit on top of already paying little or nothing for the adoption.
Adopting Across State Lines
If you want to adopt a child from another state’s foster care system, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) adds an approval step. A child cannot be placed across state lines until the receiving state reviews the case and provides written approval that the placement is not contrary to the child’s interests.
The sending state submits a formal placement request to the receiving state’s ICPC office, including your home study, the child’s case history, and documentation of authority to place. Federal law requires the receiving state to complete its review and provide a written home study report within 60 calendar days, though a final placement decision can take longer. ICPC approval generally expires after six months if the child has not been placed. You cannot bring the child home until you have written clearance, and moving a child across state lines without ICPC approval can jeopardize the entire placement.
When the Indian Child Welfare Act Applies
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) imposes additional requirements when the child is or may be a member of a federally recognized tribe. The party seeking foster placement or termination of parental rights must notify the child’s tribe and the parent or Indian custodian by registered mail, informing them of the proceedings and their right to intervene. No hearing on foster placement or termination can occur until at least 10 days after the tribe receives notice, and the tribe can request up to 20 additional days to prepare.13GovInfo. 25 USC 1912 – Pending Court Proceedings
ICWA also sets an order of preference for adoptive placements of Indian children: first a member of the child’s extended family, then other members of the child’s tribe, and then other Indian families. A tribe can establish a different order by resolution, and the court must follow it.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1915 – Placement of Indian Children If you’re pursuing adoption of a child with any potential tribal affiliation, expect the tribe to be an active participant in the case and the timeline to extend.
Support After Finalization
Finalization is not the end of available help. Most states offer post-adoption services including crisis intervention, therapeutic referrals, respite care, support groups, and case management. Adoption assistance agreements negotiated before finalization, including the monthly subsidy and Medicaid, continue after the decree is signed and can be renegotiated if the child’s needs change. Many states also offer tuition waivers or grants at public colleges for children adopted from foster care; the specifics vary, so check with your state’s child welfare agency.