Home > Foster Parent Adoption: A Bulletin for Professionals > Benefits of Foster Parent Adoption

Foster Parent Adoption

Series: Bulletins for Professionals

Author(s):   Child Welfare Information Gateway

Year Published:  2006

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You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - Trends in Foster Parent Adoption 2 - Benefits of Foster Parent Adoption 3 - Costs of Foster Parent Adoption 4 - Practice Issues With Children and Parents 5 - Pre- and Postadoption Services 6 - Questions for Further Research References Resources

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2. Benefits of Foster Parent Adoption

While the research on foster parent adoption is limited, studies do indicate that adoption by foster parents can benefit children and parents in a number of ways. Unlike most other types of adoption, children and foster parents involved in foster parent adoption have already spent time living as a family before the adoption is initiated and have had the opportunity to make some initial adjustments. In addition, research indicates that children placed for adoption with their foster parents are less likely to experience disruption of their placement than children placed in nonrelative, non-foster-parent adoptions (Berry & Barth, 1990; McRoy, 1999; Smith & Howard, 1991).

For children, some of the other benefits include:

• A continuing and legally secure relationship with parents they know and trust
• An end to the uncertainty of foster care and, for many children, a positive psychological shift in their sense of identity, connection, and belonging (Triseliotis, 2003)
• Experienced parents to manage their needs (often including emotional and behavioral challenges due to complicated life histories)
• The chance to remain in a familiar community, school, and neighborhood
• Tendency for shorter time to permanency than in other types of adoption (Howard & Smith, 2003)
• Greater likelihood of maintaining an ongoing connection with the birth family than in other types of adoption (Howard & Smith, 2003)

For the adopting family, the advantages of adopting a child in their care include:

• Permanent protection of the relationship with the child
• The opportunity to raise the child without the oversight of the agency and to become the sole decision-maker regarding school, religious practice, medical treatment, travel, discipline, and much more
• Often, both familiarity and a relationship with the child's birth family and greater knowledge of their child's background than in non-foster-parent adoption

For the birth family, foster parent adoption means the birth parents typically know those who will be the permanent caregivers for their children.

For larger society, there are also benefits from foster parent adoption. These include:

• Reduced costs to government agencies when a child moves from foster care to adoption, since the administrative costs of recruiting, training, and approving an adoptive family are reduced
• As with all adoptions from foster care, a decrease in the number of children aging out of foster care with no family and at risk for a host of problems, including homelessness, incarceration, and poverty

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You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - Trends in Foster Parent Adoption 2 - Benefits of Foster Parent Adoption 3 - Costs of Foster Parent Adoption 4 - Practice Issues With Children and Parents 5 - Pre- and Postadoption Services 6 - Questions for Further Research References Resources

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Updated on March 1, 2010