Foster Parents Considering Adoption
Families Considering Foster Care and Adoption As a foster parent, you act in the best interests of the child in your care, which means providing consistency and stability and supporting the best permanency goal for the child. While reunification is typically the primary goal of foster care, foster parents are often asked to prepare to adopt the child in their care if safely returning to the birth family isn’t possible. This parallel process is called “concurrent planning.” According to the national Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), in fiscal year (FY) 2017 51 percent of children adopted from foster care were adopted by their foster parents (see https://www. acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport25.pdf). Deciding whether foster parenting and/or adoption is right for you and your family can raise a lot of questions. This factsheet provides information on factors to consider when making that decision, including the benefits of foster care adoption for children and youth in foster care and family qualities for successful foster care adoptions. It also provides a list of resources that are useful for families who are considering parenting or adopting a child or youth from foster care.

FACT SHEET FOR FAMILIES revised June 2019
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS 800.394.3366 |
Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov