Foster_Care_to_Adoption-_What_is_it_Like?,_Brea

The opinions and statements made in this chat session belong to the individuals posting them and appear in unedited form to promote the free exchange of information. However, they may not represent the views and/or policies of the Georgia Center for Resources and Support.

Brea: Thanks, Kim. I'm thankful to have this opportunity to share with parents about fostering-to-adopt.

Kim: Bria how long must a child be in foster care before he/she becomes available for adoption?

Brea: When a child enters the foster care system, his/her biological parents, under law, have 12 to 15 months to do the work necessary to regain custody of their child. Sometimes the courts may grant more time if the parents are making reasonable progress. If the biological parent(s) do not accomplish the court-ordered goals of their 'caseplan' within this timeframe, then DFCS (who is the legal custodian of a child in foster care) is free to begin looking at other 'permanency' options for the child. One option may be adoption. DFCS will also search for relatives who may be willing or able to care for the child long-term.

Kim: How is it determined that a child is going to become available for adoption?

Parent 5: It would seem that the foster parents would have the 1st opportunity to adopt a child in their care.

Brea: It is true that, if a child becomes available for adoption, and there are no available relatives to take the child, the child's foster parents are given the option to adopt the child in their care before any other families are considered for adoption. To answer Kim's question, a child in foster care becomes available for adoption after they have been in care for 12 to 15 months and their parents have not successfully completed their caseplan. At that point, DFCS is legally bound to seek a plan that will provide a permanent home for the child, since foster care is designed to be a temporary living situation for a child. Recently, DFCS has been making 'concurrent' plans for children in foster care, often from the beginning of their placement in the foster care system. This means that they make two contingency plans - one in case the child is able to be reunited with his/her parents, and one in case he/she is not able to be reunited. They will work to try to fulfill the requirements of both caseplans so that if the case comes to the point of adoption, many steps in that direction have already been taken (for example, searching for relatives).

Kim: Brea what are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting out the foster care system?

Parent 5: If a child is in foster care for say...a year...then back with birth parents...then back in foster care after two months...does the caseplan start all over again from the beginning?

Brea: Unfortunately, every case is probably not handled proactively, but that tends to be more the trend.

Kim: Brea What are the financial costs of adopting a child out of the foster care system?

Brea: I am unsure as to the answer to Parent 5's question. I think it may depend on the individual case. I know that there are some DFCS policies that do take into account the case's history. For example, if a child is born to a mother who has already lost previous children to DFCS custody, that history is taken into account as to how much time DFCS would give the mother to work on a caseplan. In some cases, I believe there can even be an automatic termination of parental rights and moving of the case toward adoption. I guess my answer would have to be that each case is handled individually.

Brea: I think that fostering-to-adopt has many advantages. The greatest advantage is that the foster family has the opportunity to get to know the child inside and out and to determine whether they possess the resources to meet the child's need, before making the permanent commitment of adoption. Fostering-to-adopt is also relatively affordable financially, especially when compared to international adoption, or domestic infant adoption. It's disadvantages are probably pretty obvious, in that it can be emotionally painful to invest in a child and then not be given the opportunity to make that child a permanent member of your family.

Brea: I would add the caution that fostering-to-adopt is not for everyone. I generally tell people that the best way to approach it is with an 'openness' to adoption, but also with an openness to just foster parenting and meeting the needs of a child for a time. Often, beautiful matches are made this way, but for some families, this uncertainty can be too emotionally difficult.

Kim: Brea, when families go through The United Methodist Childrens's Home to adopt can they recieve adoption assistance?

Laveda: Brea, the Georgia Center will be working to assist more foster families this contract year. As we become more familiar with programs that are out there to assist foster families we hope we can be a good resource to them. Have you had much experience with wrap-around services with very many of your foster families? If so, what do you think about this program?

Brea: Adopting through the foster care system costs nothing when you a adopt a child who is considered to have 'special needs.' In general, this is defined by the State as a child who is part of a sibling group placed together (3 or more), a child who is African American and over the age of 1, any child over the age of 8, or a child with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Many children in foster care may fit this description in some way, shape, or form. The children are classified as 'special needs' because they may be harder to place. Some children who are classified as having special needs have relatively minor needs that will improve with therapy and time (for example, an infant with a developmental delay). Other needs may be more permanent. Adoption Assistance is available through the State of Georgia for children classified as 'special needs.' Some assistance is usually also available through the State to help with attorney fees. Adoption Assistance is paid directly by the State to the adopting family, and is not paid through private agencies who may handle the adoption.

Brea: Laveda, I'm afraid that I do not have any experience with the wrap-around services you are referring to. Are these services provided to foster families by the State, or by private groups contracted by the State?

Kim: Brea, How many children are available for adoption through the foster care system?

Robina: Brea, When you go through the United Methodist Childrens Home do you have to have a private home study done or can you use the one DFCS has for your foster home.

Laveda: Brea, I believe that private agencies have received contracts from the State to provide these services. I know that Families First does provide the Wrap-Around services, but I am not very familiar with the program. It seems the mission of this program is to prevent disruption if possible. I just thought you might have used this service or your agency might be a provider.

Brea: I have read some statistics that say that nationally, there are 130,000 children awaiting adoption, and about 1200 in the State of Georgia.

Parent 5: Just curious...why would someone go through a pvt. agency instead of the local DFCS to become a foster parent or to foster-to-adopt?

Brea: I think that wrap-around services for foster and especially adoptive families would be very helpful. I know that the mission of the Georgia Center is to make sure that adoptive families are not left high and dry when they encounter challenges after the adoption. I would think that wrap-around services would be very helpful and appropriate for adoptive families.

andreas: What advice would you have to parents concerning adoption vs. fostering to adopt?

Brea: Our agency does not provide a 'full range' of adoption services. For example, we do not do international adoptions. We primarily focus on converting our foster homes into adoptive homes, when the foster family makes the decision to adopt the child in their care. This is known as an 'adoption conversion study.' We have had families transefer to our agency from DFCS as foster families, but even if that is the case, a conversion study must be written each time a foster family adopts a child. It is child-specific.

Brea: In my opinion, it is advantageous to foster/adopt through a private agency because you will most likely receive services that are more personalized and usually done more efficiently. Our agency, for example, maintains lower caseloads for each foster care worker so that we can provide our foster families with plenty of individual support and attention. The services that DFCS v. a private agency may offer may be the same, but private agencies may not be as overwhelmed in terms of workload and able to focus more on quality of service. Unfortunately, the DFCS system, although they do their best, is often very overloaded and may tend to work in a crisis mode, versus a proactive mode.

Kim: What does the term 'legal rik' mean? Is there anything that can be done to minimize the risks involved in fostering-to-adopt?

Brea: I would advise parents who are considering adoption to explore all of their options, with fostering-to-adopt being one among them. I don't think that fostering-to-adopt is for those who are going to be first-time parents. I would encourage someone in the position of not having any children and wanting to adopt to choose a route that will entail less risk. Fostering-to-adopt usually entails what is referred to as a 'legal risk.' This describes a situation where a family who intends to adopt takes in a child who is not yet legally free for adoption but whose case looks like it is heading in that direction. This may mean that no relatives have been found who can care for the child and that DFCS is filing for termination of parental rights with the courts. Obviously, this child is not yet legally free to be adopted, and therefore "it's not official until it's official," but it looks like the child will become available for adoption in the forseeable future. In this situation, DFCS will often try to place the child in a family (if they are not already in one) who is willing to assume this risk and willing to adopt the child when the time comes. It is obviously more risky to take a child into your home when the child initially enters the foster care system, because there are atleast 12 to 15 month of time ahead in which a lot can happen, but the risk can be minimized to some degree for a family if they take only 'legal risk' cases. This often entails waiting for a while for the right situation to come along, but it can help to minimize the risks involved.

Kim: Our time will soon be up does anyone have any other questions for Brea?

Laveda: Brea, Over the next couple of months we (The Center) will be focusing on Resources that will benefit the foster family. In your opinion, what are some of the Resources that you think have been most beneficial to Foster Parents/families? Do you have any suggestions for us in regard to Resources that are needed?

Brea: For foster families caring or older children, I would think that the wrap-around services we were discussing earlier would be most helpful. Consultation regarding behavior issues and experts to help with 'Treatment Planning' for individual children are greatly needed. We also find that simply having a consistent contact person at your agency provides many families with the measure of support they need to do an excellent job. There are also resources available in Georgia to help with some of the financial costs of caring for children, such as a private center that provides seasonal clothing and other goods for some children in foster care (depending on the per diem they receive from the State). All kind of resources are needed, but I would say that quality mental health resources and consultation are probably the hardest to find.

Brea: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to discuss a topic that I consider to be so important. Fostering to adopt is one route to adoption that I hope more and more people will consider. There are many children in need of a loving, permanent home.

Foster_Care_to_Adoption-_What_is_it_Like?,_Brea_Robinson

Monday, the 16th of August 2004