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Home > Achieving and Maintaining Permanency > Adoption From Foster Care > Children Waiting for Adoption > Adopting Older Children
Adopting Older Children
The average age of children waiting to be adopted from foster care is 8 ½ years old. Many State child welfare agencies are implementing specific services to help preteen and teenage youth find permanent families.
Adoptive Families Books for Children
Adoptive Families Magazine
This website lists books recommended by adoptive families for teens.
Adolescent Identity and the Impact on Adoptive Parents (PDF - 149 KB)
National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (2003)
Tips for parents of teens struggling with adoption issues.
Adoption of Adolescents (PDF - 44 KB)
National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (2002)
Discusses the challenges of adopting adolescents and the difficulty in finding permanency for this population.
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (PDF - 33 KB)
This law expanded adoption incentive awards for State child welfare agencies to support adoptions of children from foster care ages 9 and older.
Child's Finalization Age (Grouped) October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003
Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Fiscal year 2003 data on the ages of children adopted from the U.S. foster care system at the time of adoption finalization.
Field-Initiated Research on Successful Adolescent Adoptions (PDF - 1061 KB)
The Center for Child and Family Studies (2004)
Factors for successful adolescent adoptions.
FY 2005 Children's Bureau Competitive Cooperative Agreements and Discretionary Grant Awards
Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2005)
Cooperative agreement awards for developing adoption services and supports for youth who wish to retain contact with family members, in order to improve permanency outcomes.
Making the Child Welfare System Work for Older Youth
Urban Institute (2007)
Audio files from several presentations on how best to serve the permanency needs of older youth, focusing on where adoption fits as a permanency goal, youth perspectives on placements and permanency, the availability of post-adoption services, and concurrent planning for children in their preteen years.
Older Child Adoption (PDF - 85 KB)
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Adoption (2004)
Outlines emerging practices in the placement of older children for adoption.
Selected Web-Based Resources: Achieving Permanence for Older Children and Youth (PDF - 622 KB)
Casey Family Services (2006)
A developing list of selected web-based resources related to achieving family permanence for older children and youth in foster care.
Successful Adolescent Adoptions
The Center for Child and Family Studies
Insights from adolescents who have been adopted and their adoptive parents.
Terminating the Parental Rights of Older Children
Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004)
Effects of the termination of parental rights on older foster youth's foster care and adoption experiences.
Why Family Permanence is Critical for Older Children and Youth in Foster Care (PDF - 506 KB)
Casey Family Services (2006)
Highlights statistics regarding older children and youth in the foster care system and outcomes for children that leave the child welfare system without a permanent family.
You're Never Too Old: Teens Speak Out on Adoption (PDF - 357 KB)
The Center for Child and Family Studies (2000)
Teens share their thoughts on the best and worst parts of being adopted and offer advice to other teens in foster care considering adoption.
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