If you want to adopt a child from foster care, the practical way to find one is to browse a photolisting of waiting children and work with a licensed agency to get approved. AdoptUSKids, a national service run by the federal Children’s Bureau, publishes profiles of more than 5,000 children currently waiting for adoptive families, and most states run their own listings alongside it.1AdoptUSKids. Photolisting You can look at profiles right away. Actually being matched with a child takes longer, because agencies will only discuss a specific child once you have a completed home study and an active relationship with a licensed adoption agency.
Start With a Photolisting
The AdoptUSKids photolisting is the largest national database of children in U.S. foster care who are legally free for adoption or heading in that direction. You can filter by age, sibling group, and other characteristics, and each child has a profile describing their personality, interests, and the kind of family the caseworker is looking for.1AdoptUSKids. Photolisting
Most states also run their own photolistings and adoption exchanges, usually linked from the state child welfare agency’s website. Some children appear only on the state list and not the national one, so it’s worth checking both. The Child Welfare Information Gateway keeps a searchable directory of foster care and adoption agencies, state contacts, and support organizations organized by state, and it’s the single most useful starting point if you don’t already know your state’s system.2Child Welfare Information Gateway. State, Territory, and Tribal Resources
Children on these listings often have specific needs. Sibling groups, older children, and children with medical or developmental conditions are heavily represented, because those are the children for whom agencies most need to recruit families. Reading profiles honestly, against what your household can actually offer, saves time on both sides.
Get Approved Before You Inquire
You can look at photolistings without any preparation, but you cannot be seriously considered for a specific child until you’re approved to adopt. That means three things, in roughly this order:
- Pre-service training through a licensed agency, covering the realities of foster and adoptive parenting, trauma, and working with the child welfare system.
- A home study conducted by a licensed agency, which looks at your household, finances, background checks, references, and readiness.
- Formal approval as an adoptive (or foster-to-adopt) family in your state.
Requirements vary by state. Some states expect you to be licensed as a foster parent first and adopt through fostering; others license adoption-only families. The fastest way to find out what your jurisdiction requires is to contact the state or county child welfare agency directly and ask what steps a prospective adoptive parent needs to take.
Contacting the Right Agency
Foster care is administered at the state and county level, so you’ll be dealing with a state or county office, not a federal one. State agencies go by different names: Department of Children and Families, Department of Social Services, Division of Child Protection, and similar variations. The Administration for Children and Families keeps a directory of every state and territory’s human services agency with phone numbers organized by federal region.3Administration for Children and Families. State Human Services Agencies
The Child Welfare Information Gateway’s directory is more detailed and links directly to individual state child welfare offices and adoption-specific contacts.2Child Welfare Information Gateway. State, Territory, and Tribal Resources When you call, ask for the adoption unit or the recruitment office rather than the general intake line. Intake staff handle new reports of abuse or neglect and typically can’t help with adoption inquiries.
Inquiring About a Specific Child
Once you’ve seen a profile you want to know more about, the inquiry goes through the child’s caseworker or the recruitment agency listed on the profile. On AdoptUSKids and most state listings, the inquiry form asks for information about your home study, your agency, and your family. Without an active home study, an inquiry usually goes nowhere.
If you’re approved and your inquiry moves forward, the child’s team will share more detailed information about the child’s history, needs, and current situation. From there, matching may involve a written summary of your family, a phone or video meeting with the caseworker, and, if things progress, gradual introductions to the child. The process is deliberately slow because a failed placement is hard on the child.
If You’re a Relative Trying to Adopt a Specific Child
If the child you want to adopt is a relative who has been removed from a parent’s custody, federal law gives you a head start. Under the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, every state must use due diligence to identify and notify all adult grandparents, parents of the child’s siblings who have custody of those siblings, and other adult relatives within 30 days of removal.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 671 – State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance That notice must explain your options for participating in the child’s care and placement, including how to become a licensed foster home or pursue kinship guardianship, which for many families is the path that eventually leads to adoption.
If you’re a relative and you never received notice, the agency may not have had your contact information or may have fallen short of its obligation. You can still reach out. Contact the child welfare agency in the county or state where the child was last living. Bring whatever identifying details you have: the child’s name, date of birth, the parents’ names, and anything you know about when or why the child may have entered care. Even as a relative, you won’t automatically receive full case details, but you can ask to be considered for placement, which is the step that opens the door to adoption if reunification with the parents doesn’t happen.
Special Rules for Native American Children
If the child is a member of a federally recognized tribe, or is eligible for membership and has a parent who is a member, the Indian Child Welfare Act changes how the case proceeds and who has priority in adoption. Any party seeking foster care placement or termination of parental rights involving an Indian child must notify the parent, Indian custodian, and the child’s tribe by registered mail with return receipt requested.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1912 – Pending Court Proceedings No placement hearing can take place until at least ten days after those parties receive notice, and they can request up to twenty additional days to prepare.
If the agency doesn’t know which tribe is involved or can’t locate the parent or custodian, it must send notice to the Secretary of the Interior, who then has fifteen days to identify and contact the correct tribe.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1912 – Pending Court Proceedings The Bureau of Indian Affairs publishes a list of ICWA designated tribal agents that can help determine which tribe to contact.6Indian Affairs. ICWA Notice Under ICWA, adoptive placement preferences run to the child’s extended family, then to other members of the child’s tribe, then to other Indian families. Adopting an Indian child from outside those categories is possible but harder, and the tribe has the right to intervene in the state court proceeding at any point.
When to Bring in an Attorney
Most straightforward foster-to-adopt cases don’t require a lawyer on your side; the agency and the court handle the legal steps. A family law attorney who handles child welfare cases becomes worth consulting when the informal approach stalls. Attorneys can file motions to access sealed records, represent relatives seeking placement or visitation, and appear in dependency court in ways a private individual cannot. If the child’s case is still active in court, an attorney can petition for your involvement in the proceedings.
That matters most when you’re a relative who was never notified under the Fostering Connections Act, when you’re dealing with an interstate situation because the child was moved to a different state, or when the agency has denied you as a placement and you want to challenge that decision. Legal aid organizations in most states offer free or low-cost representation in child welfare matters for people who qualify financially.