Can I Adopt from Foster Care?

Foster care is a temporary arrangement, with the goal usually being to reunite the child with their biological family. While there are no guarantees of adopting a foster child through CCR, it does happen. By approaching foster parenting with the right mindset and being open to the challenges and realities it presents, your family may have the opportunity to adopt a child from Wisconsin foster care.

Fostering to adopt requires supporting the reunification goal.

The good news is that adoption from foster care is an option for nearly any person looking to grow their family, including those who are single, married, LGBTQ, partnered, working, or at home at any stage in life. Many CCR foster families have successfully adopted. For some, it was their goal and they accepted the risks inherent in adopting from foster care. For others, the opportunity to adopt their foster children happened unexpectedly.

CCR foster parents with the desire to adopt a foster child are encouraged to keep reunification at the forefront of their minds. As a qualified CCR foster parent, your role is to support the child in your care and their biological family throughout the reunification process. This is a meaningful opportunity to expand the child’s support network by supporting them and their family however needed.

Being a CCR foster parent means you must always be prepared for the very real possibility that the children you hoped to adopt may be returned to their birth parents or placed with other relatives. That reality can be challenging for foster parents hoping to adopt.

If reunification does not happen, only then, are CCR foster parents considered as an adoptive resource.

Listen to our podcast: Can I adopt from foster care?

Becoming a foster parent with the hope of adoption.

Becoming a foster parent with the hope of adoption is welcomed at CCR. When a child, youth, or siblings are referred to CCR, the permanency plan is known: most often, that goal is reunification. If reunification is not possible, TPR, termination of parental rights, will be pursued. Of course, the goal can change and often does, but it's important to know for purposes of initial placement.

CCR uses a thorough matching process that considers the needs of the child or siblings and the desires, strengths, and experience level of the foster family.

If we know TPR is anticipated or in process, we aim to place the child with a family interested in adoption, otherwise referred to as a “pre-adopt” home, to avoid disrupting the placement at a later date.

In other words, we want to avoid placing a child in a home NOT interested in adoption to avoid having to move the child to a pre-adopt home at a later date.

There is often a dual role for foster parents referred to as “concurrent planning,” meaning that while a plan to reunify children with their biological family is being actively pursued, work is also being done to achieve an alternate permanency plan quickly—often adoption by the foster parents—should the reunification plan not be successful.

Adopting a child from foster care

Adoption from foster care can be joyful, meaningful, and life-changing — but families should also expect complexities and challenges. From the emotional trauma, a child experiences before entering foster care, and the additional traumas of being separated from their family, a child’s mental, emotional, and behavioral health are deeply affected.

Is your heart leading you to care for and support children temporarily or permanently?
Will you be able to support a child and family through the reunification process?
Are you emotionally prepared to say goodbye to a child you have cared for and bonded with?
Do you understand that the effects of past traumas will be a part of an adopted child's life?
Do you accept that multiple children/youth may come and go before the possibility of adoption comes along?

Many CCR foster families have successfully adopted. Although the percentages are low, less than 20%, it does happen, and we have witnessed many families grow through adoption.

CCR is a Wisconsin foster care licensing and child placement agency.

While we welcome anyone wishing to grow their family through foster care, CCR does not offer a direct path to adoption. We are a foster care license and placement agency. Thus an adoption will only occur after reunification has been deemed impossible and the process of termination of parental rights has taken place.

Listen to our podcast: Can I adopt from foster care?

If you are interested in adopting a child that is legally free, we encourage you to explore Adopt Us Kids or contact a local adoption agency. The cost to adopt from Wisconsin foster care is nominal. In most cases there are very few fees.

Growing your family through foster care.

The good news is, adoption has been a beautiful journey for many CCR foster parents, and it can be the same for you, too. We would love to discuss the possibilities and what adopting a foster child may look like for you and your family. Please contact us to discuss becoming a foster parent.

Wisconsin Foster Care Crisis Continues

The Wisconsin foster care crisis continues as we enter 2020. The plea for Wisconsin foster parents is desperate as more and more children and sibling groups enter foster care. Although the national Families First initiative is bringing some relief, sibling sets and groups of 3, 4 and more come into care regularly, mostly due to statewide drug abuse. Thankfully, 100% of our foster parents are willing to foster more than one child at a time. But what happens when we just can't seem to recruit new foster parents? what happens when we don't have an available home? As was the case a few weeks back when we did not have a foster home for 2-year-old twins!

There was not a foster home available for twin toddlers!

Hard to believe isn't it? When we posted this on our Facebook page, it went mini-viral. Over 3,000 people saw our post and the reactions and comments were as we expected.

Oh my gosh, I would take them in a heartbeat.

I wish I had the space in my home.

I am a licensed with my county and have no placements. Can I take them?

What county are they in? I can help.

Comments came in from all over the state. As expected, many of the reactions came from frustrated county foster parents with beds available in their homes. Many folks were willing to help and others were sad they could not.

Messages poured in from Wisconsin women interested in learning more, requesting information, and asking how they could help. We quickly responded to each in the hope that one would follow up and qualify as a prospective foster parent. That was 3 weeks ago, sadly none of those folks have followed up. We go through dry spells often so it does not surprise us when our inbox and mailbox remain empty. We remain hopeful.

Not one foster care application returned in 3 months!

Not one application returned to us between October to early January. We receive messages, emails, and calls every day from folks all over Wisconsin that are interested in learning about how to become a foster parent. Many are interested in information, some are ready to begin the application process, and others are looking to transfer from their county agency.

We receive over 400 inquiries each year. Of those inquiries:

Less than 15% request a foster care application. Less than 1/3 will complete and return it.

Thinking about foster care and taking the leap to actually become a licensed foster parent are miles apart from one another. There is so much to learn and so much information to gather that many families are simply scared away from the process. Which is why at Community Care Resources we don't make prospective foster parents sit through a generic orientation session nor do we offer information sessions that gloss over the highlights of being a foster parent.

We want to speak to you. We want you to get all the Wisconsin foster care answers you are looking for in a single phone conversation. Sit comfortably in your home and be confident that you are getting honest, transparent information so that you can make the best decision for you and your family. Calls with our CCR foster parent advisor last as long as they need to, usually 30-60 minutes. The call can go in many directions but always ending with every question answered.

There are 5 foster care topics we discuss in detail.

CCR agency details and what foster parents can expect.
The qualifications to foster with CCR.
How children are referred and placed in a home.
How monthly payments, medical care, and respite care are provided.
The steps and process to get a license.

There are no questions off-limits. There is no information that we will not provide. We have an answer to every question a prospective foster parent can possibly think of. We love foster care questions and we love to give foster care answers.

How is private foster care different than a county?
How long does it take to get a license?
How much flexibility is required?
How are foster parents supported?
How often will a caseworker visit my home?
What types of children are in foster care?
How long will a child be in my home?
Is adoption an option?
What about schools?
What about background checks?

The list goes on and on. Sure, you can get a lot of that information right here on our website but we understand that sometimes, folks who want to become a foster parent want to speak with someone directly. People want to connect and feel welcomed by a friendly voice with hundreds of Wisconsin foster care answers.

It does not matter what Wisconsin county you live in. CCR is a statewide agency and we currently have homes in 35 Wisconsin counties. Each of our homes is receiving weekly in-home visits with unmatched support services.

What happened to the 2-year-old twins with no foster home to go to?

Unfortunately, we do not know. Sadly, we are not told what happens to children when we are unable to place them in a loving home. As tragic as that sounds, imagine the toll that takes on employees. It is heartbreaking and frustrating that we just don't have enough families to meet the needs of all of the children referred to us.

When county foster agencies are unable to place kids in a county foster home (for whatever reason) they make a referral to a private agency like CCR. If we don't have the right home in the right location able to meet ALL the needs of a child or sibling group, we must turn the referral down. It is then up to the referring county as to where that child or sibling group is placed.

There are dozens of reasons why kids are referred to us and there are dozens of reasons why we are sometimes unable to place children in a loving home. At CCR our goal is to create a healing environment for a child. We are building healthy relationships so that placements are successful and kids can heal from trauma. Often times, we are creating forever families through foster to adopt options.

If you have a flexible schedule that allows for weekly appointments, unplanned interruptions, and availability around school schedules, we would love to speak with you. If you are a current foster parent with your county or another agency and feeling frustrated, contact us and allow us to answer your questions. We love to provide details and honest answers.

Is foster parenting for you and your family? In less than 4 months you could be trained, licensed, and loving kids while helping them heal from their trauma. If you have an interest in learning more about foster to adopt options, let us know.

Call Jane at 800-799-0450