According to recent data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, the average age of a child waiting to be adopted from the U.S. foster care system is 8 years old. Statistics on foster care adoption indicate that adoptions of older children remain far less common than adoptions of younger children. This section includes information about adopting older children and youth waiting for families in the U.S. foster care system and throughout the world.
The Adopted Life Episodes [Video]
The Adopted Life (2020)
Features a web series comprising conversations between youth who have been adopted and the series creator, Angela Tucker. Discussions include various topics centered on adoption, including intercountry and transracial and transcultural adoption.
Parenting Your Adopted Teenager
Talking With Older Youth About Adoption
Teens Need Families
AdoptUSKids
Answers common questions related to adopting older teens, including youth consent to adoption, planning for college tuition, and accessing medical benefits.
What Are Some Effective Strategies for Older Youth Adoption?
Casey Family Programs (2020)
Presents strategies to increase older youth adoption, including youth-driven permanency, family search and engagement, kinship adoption, community-based recruitment, caseworker support, and adoption support and preservation services. The resource presents examples of jurisdictions that have found success using these methods and lists additional resources on older youth adoption.
Youth Voices: Why Families Matter [Webinar]
AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019)
Describes the importance of permanency for older youth, how to engage youth when planning for adoption, and resources that can support efforts to achieve permanency for older youth, including the National Adoption Month website.