Transitioning Foster Parents to Adoptive Parents

This section offers materials for caseworkers and foster/adoptive families to address the transition from foster care to adoption.

About Adoption From Foster Care
AdoptUSKids (2018)
Discusses adoption from foster care and includes a section on fostering before adopting. The article describes how many States view foster care and adoption as a continuum and establish policies that encourage parents wanting to adopt to become foster parents first.

Adopting Your Foster Child: What Every Parent Needs to Know (PDF - 140 KB)
Center for Adoption Support and Education (2016)
Describes the process of adoption after foster care and explains that foster parents should be prepared for the changes adoption brings both to them personally and to their foster child and other members of the family.

A Foster Care to Adoption Guide (PDF - 766 KB)
Together We Rise (2014)
Guides parents through the foster-to-adoption process. In this resource, step 6 provides questions for prospective adoptive parents to ask the child's current social worker to help the child transition smoothly into a new home.

Foster to Adopt
National Youth Advocate Program (2018)
Explores differences between foster parenting and adoption, including the benefits of foster parent adoption for both the parents and children involved.

Helping Families Build Relationships From Foster Care to Adoption
Our Lady of the Lake University (2018)
Discusses how change can be a challenge for children transitioning from foster care into an adoptive home and provides advice on how to give the child stability, where to go for assistance, and ways to make the transition easier.

Helping Your Child Transition from Foster Care to Adoption

Series Title	Factsheets for Families
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 484KB) Order (Free)
Year Published	2018

Offers guidance on helping children with the foster-to-adoption transition process, including specific coping strategies for different developmental stages. Explores ways to promote attachment and provides resources available to help families with permanency.

Preparing Adoptive Parents

Series Title	Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 388KB) Order (Free)
Year Published	2020

Provides caseworkers with information and resources about the importance of preparing adoptive parents as well as how they can help prepare them for this journey. Information in this bulletin also may be pertinent for working with families formed through other types of permanency, such as guardianship. Caseworkers can support families adopting children from foster care by being upfront with them about what they might expect regarding bonding with the child, parenting a child who has experienced loss and grief, how parents and children may emotionally process the adoption, the supports available to both the child and parents, and other important topics.

State Foster/Adoptive Family Associations/Coalitions

Series Title	Related Organizations Lists
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View

Includes State-level associations/coalitions of families that work to strengthen foster and adoptive parents and kinship/relative caregiver families through training, support, advocacy, and outreach activities. Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.) links are included, when available.

Support for Parents Who Adopt From Foster Care
AdoptUSKids
Provides an overview of the services available to families throughout the adoption process.

Ten Things That Youth Want Child Welfare Professions to Know: Talking to Youth in Foster Care About Permanency (PDF - 126 KB)
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, Virginia Department of Social Services (2014)
Highlights recommendations developed by adopted youth and youth in foster care to enable caseworkers to discuss permanency options.

Touchpoints: Preparing Children for Transitions (PDF - 666 KB)
Coalition for Children, Youth, and Families (2015)
Designed to help caregivers and child welfare professionals prepare youth in foster care for transitioning to a new placement. This resource includes key discussion windows, tools, and resource materials that facilitate conversations with youth in out-of-home care.

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