Foster Care Adoption in Georgia
Foster Care Adoption
Understanding Foster Care Adoption in Georgia
Foster care adoption can provide a child with the permanent family and stability they need after experiencing abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other circumstances that made remaining in their original home unsafe. For Georgia families interested in adoption, becoming an adoptive parent through the foster care system can be a meaningful way to provide a permanent home to a child who needs one.
Foster care adoption is different from a private adoption or an adoption arranged directly with a birth parent. Many children in Georgia’s foster care system initially enter care with the goal of reunification with their biological parents or other permanency options. Adoption may become the plan when reunification is no longer feasible or when another permanent placement is deemed more suitable. An experienced foster care adoption attorney can answer your questions and guide you through the adoption process.
The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) explains that adoption is both a social and legal process through which an individual joins a family with the same rights and status as a child born into that family. For children in Georgia’s foster care system, adoption can provide a lasting family relationship.
Because foster care adoption involves the child welfare system as well as the courts, prospective parents should understand that the process can involve multiple stages, including training, screening, home assessment, matching, placement, and court proceedings.
What Is Foster Care Adoption?
Foster care adoption occurs when a child who has been involved with the foster care system becomes legally available for adoption and is ultimately adopted by an approved individual or family.
The process can take several different forms. A family may first become licensed or approved as foster parents and later adopt a child who has been placed with them. Alternatively, prospective adoptive parents may become approved through the foster-care adoption process and be considered for children who are already legally available for adoption.
It is important to understand that foster care and adoption are not interchangeable. Foster care is generally intended to provide temporary care while the state and courts work toward a permanency goal. Adoption, by contrast, creates a permanent legal parent-child relationship.
Georgia DFCS specifically notes that foster parents are expected to support the case goals and permanency plan for children placed in their care, which can include working with birth parents toward reunification.
Why Children Enter Georgia’s Foster Care System
Children enter foster care for a variety of reasons. DFCS reports that many children who become available for adoption entered state care because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, although the circumstances surrounding each child are unique.
A child may have experienced significant disruption before entering foster care. Depending on the circumstances, children may have experienced:
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Neglect
- Abandonment
- Substance-related family instability
- Domestic violence in the home
- Repeated changes in caregivers
- Separation from siblings or other family members
Prospective adoptive parents should be prepared for the possibility that a child who has experienced trauma may need additional emotional, behavioral, educational, medical, or therapeutic support.
Who Can Adopt a Child From Foster Care in Georgia?
Georgia establishes qualifications for prospective adoptive parents. According to DFCS, prospective adoptive parents generally must:
- Be at least 21 years old, or be married and living with a spouse;
- Be at least 10 years older than the child, except where Georgia law provides an exception for a stepparent or relative;
- Meet applicable Georgia residency requirements;
- Be financially, physically, and mentally able to have permanent custody of the child; and
- Be willing and able to meet the child’s physical, emotional, medical, psychological, and social needs.
These requirements are reflected in Georgia’s adoption statute and DFCS guidance.
Meeting the basic qualifications does not automatically mean that a person will be approved to adopt a particular child. Foster care adoption involves an assessment of the prospective parent’s ability to meet the needs of children who may have experienced trauma or other difficult circumstances.
Can a Single Person Adopt From Foster Care in Georgia?
Being unmarried does not automatically prevent someone from becoming an adoptive parent in Georgia. Georgia law allows an individual who satisfies the statutory qualifications to petition for adoption.
DFCS evaluates prospective parents based on their ability to provide safe, stable, permanent care rather than simply whether they are married.
Single prospective parents should nevertheless be prepared to demonstrate that they have appropriate support systems and the ability to manage the responsibilities associated with parenting a child who may have significant needs.
Can Married Couples Adopt From Foster Care?
Yes. Married couples can pursue foster care adoption in Georgia.
Georgia law generally provides that when an individual seeking to adopt is married, the adoption petition is filed in the names of both spouses. An exception applies when the child is or was the petitioner’s stepchild.
Married couples considering adoption should discuss their expectations, parenting responsibilities, financial circumstances, and ability to provide a stable environment before beginning the process.
Do You Have to Be a Foster Parent Before Adopting?
Not necessarily. Foster care and foster care adoption can overlap, but they are not identical paths.
Some families become foster parents and later adopt a child who has been placed with them and becomes legally available for adoption. Other families pursue approval specifically with the goal of adopting a child from foster care.
Georgia DFCS states that prospective adoptive parents complete the same application process as foster parents.
Families should discuss their desired path with DFCS or their adoption professional because the appropriate process can depend on the circumstances of the child and the prospective parents.
The Georgia Foster Care Adoption Process
Foster care adoption involves several stages. The exact sequence and timing can vary depending on the child, prospective parents, DFCS involvement, and legal circumstances.
Step 1: Make an Initial Inquiry
Families interested in adopting through Georgia’s foster care system can begin by contacting DFCS. Georgia DFCS directs prospective families to its adoption inquiry process and provides information about upcoming information sessions.
Step 2: Attend an Information Session
The information session introduces prospective families to the foster care and adoption process, including the responsibilities associated with caring for children who have experienced difficult circumstances.
DFCS states that prospective families attend an information session before proceeding further in the process.
Step 3: Complete the Application and Screening Process
Prospective foster and adoptive parents must complete an application and undergo screening. The process is intended to determine whether the prospective family can provide a safe and stable environment.
DFCS information indicates that prospective foster parents undergo background and safety-related screening, including fingerprint checks and reviews of relevant databases.
Step 4: Complete Required Training
Prospective parents receive training designed to prepare them for the realities of caring for children in foster care and children who may ultimately become available for adoption.
Training can help prospective parents understand trauma, attachment, child development, behavioral challenges, family relationships, and the responsibilities of foster and adoptive parenting.
Step 5: Home Assessment
DFCS conducts an assessment of the prospective family’s home and circumstances. The purpose is to determine whether the home provides an appropriate environment for a child.
Georgia DFCS explains that a Resource Development Worker visits the prospective family’s home following the information session and before pre-service training.
Step 6: Approval as a Foster or Adoptive Family
Once the required steps have been completed, the family can become approved for foster or adoptive placement, depending on the path being pursued.
Approval does not necessarily mean that a particular child will immediately be placed with the family. Matching depends on the needs of the child and the family’s ability to meet those needs.
Step 7: Matching With a Child
When a child is legally available for adoption, DFCS and adoption professionals work to identify an appropriate permanent family.
Factors may include the child’s age, medical needs, emotional and behavioral needs, sibling relationships, cultural and family connections, educational needs, and the prospective family’s ability to provide appropriate care.
Step 8: Pre-Adoptive Placement
Before adoption is finalized, the child may be placed with the prospective adoptive family. This gives the child and family an opportunity to establish a relationship while required supervision and legal procedures take place.
Step 9: File the Adoption Petition
Once the legal requirements for adoption have been satisfied, an adoption petition is filed with the appropriate court.
The petition begins the judicial portion of the adoption process and must comply with Georgia’s adoption laws and applicable court procedures.
Step 10: Adoption Hearing and Finalization
The court reviews the adoption and determines whether the legal requirements have been met. If the court grants the adoption, the adoption becomes legally final and the adoptive parents assume the legal rights and responsibilities associated with permanent parenthood.
What Happens to the Biological Parents’ Rights?
Parental rights are a fundamental issue in foster care adoption.
A child generally cannot simply be adopted because he or she is living in foster care. Before a child can be adopted through DFCS, the legal status of the biological parents must permit the adoption to proceed.
Georgia law provides that a child may be adopted through DFCS or an authorized child-placing agency when the living parents and guardians have voluntarily surrendered their rights for adoption or when their rights have been terminated by a court and the child has been committed for placement for adoption.
This distinction is extremely important. A child can be in foster care while the state is still working toward reunification with the child’s biological family. Foster placement alone does not necessarily mean that the child is legally available for adoption.
Reunification and Foster Care Adoption
One of the most important things prospective foster parents should understand is that adoption may not be the initial goal when a child enters foster care.
In many cases, the initial permanency objective is reunification with the child’s parents. Foster parents may therefore be asked to support the child’s relationship with biological family members and participate in the child’s case plan.
DFCS specifically states that foster parents are expected to support permanency goals, which can involve working with birth parents toward reunification.
This can be emotionally challenging for prospective parents who hope eventually to adopt. Families considering foster care should understand this possibility before accepting a placement.
What Does “Legally Available for Adoption” Mean?
A child being in foster care does not automatically mean that the child is available for adoption.
Generally, a child becomes legally available for adoption after the necessary parental rights and legal requirements have been addressed. This may occur through voluntary surrender of parental rights or through termination of parental rights by a court, followed by the appropriate authorization for adoption.
Determining whether a particular child is legally available requires reviewing the child’s individual case and legal status.
Can Foster Parents Adopt the Child Placed With Them?
Potentially. A foster parent may ultimately adopt a child placed in the foster parent’s home when adoption becomes the child’s permanency plan and the foster parent is approved and selected as the adoptive placement.
However, foster parents should not assume that accepting a foster placement guarantees an opportunity to adopt the child. The child’s permanency plan, legal status, relationship with biological family, sibling relationships, and other circumstances can affect the outcome.
The purpose of foster care is to provide safe temporary care while a permanent solution is pursued. Adoption may be that permanent solution, but it is not guaranteed in every foster placement.
Adopting Siblings From Foster Care
Sibling relationships can be particularly important in foster care adoption.
Some children available for adoption are part of sibling groups. Keeping siblings together may be a significant consideration when identifying an adoptive family.
Georgia DFCS identifies sibling groups of two or more placed together as one category that may qualify as a special-needs circumstance for adoption-assistance purposes.
Families considering adoption of siblings should realistically evaluate whether they have the space, financial resources, time, and emotional capacity to meet the needs of multiple children.
Adopting Older Children From Foster Care
Many prospective adoptive parents initially imagine adopting an infant. Foster care adoption, however, can provide permanent homes to children of many different ages.
Georgia’s DFCS adoption program highlights children who are often older, part of sibling groups, or have special needs.
Older children may have spent significant portions of their lives in foster care and may have strong feelings about adoption. They may also have established relationships with siblings, relatives, former caregivers, teachers, or other important people.
Adoptive parents should be prepared to help an older child process grief, loss, attachment issues, identity questions, and the transition into a permanent family.
Adopting a Child With Special Needs
Children who are adopted from foster care may have medical, developmental, emotional, psychological, or behavioral needs that require additional support.
The term “special needs” in the context of Georgia adoption assistance does not necessarily mean that a child has a severe disability. DFCS identifies several circumstances that can qualify a child for adoption assistance, including certain children who have spent extended periods outside the care of their legal or biological parents, children with qualifying physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, and sibling groups placed together.
Prospective parents should ask questions about a child’s known medical history, educational needs, developmental history, mental health, behavioral needs, and available services before accepting an adoptive placement.
Adoption Assistance for Foster Children in Georgia
Some children adopted from foster care may qualify for adoption assistance. The purpose of adoption assistance is to help make permanent adoption possible for children who meet applicable criteria and might otherwise remain in temporary care.
Georgia DFCS describes adoption assistance as potentially including ongoing monthly benefits, medical coverage, and non-recurring adoption-related expenses.
Non-recurring assistance may help with certain expenses associated with finalizing an adoption, including eligible legal fees and court costs. DFCS currently identifies a maximum of $1,500 per child for certain non-recurring adoption expenses.
Eligibility is not automatic. Adoption assistance must be applied for and approved, and an adoption-assistance agreement must be signed before finalization when required.
Does Foster Care Adoption Cost Money?
The cost of adopting from foster care can differ from the cost of a private adoption.
Some costs may be covered or assisted through Georgia’s adoption-assistance programs when the child and family qualify. DFCS identifies non-recurring adoption assistance that may help with eligible legal fees, court costs, and other one-time expenses.
Prospective parents should nevertheless ask about all potential expenses before beginning the process. Costs can include legal services, court filing expenses, obtaining certified records, travel, and other adoption-related expenses.
Families should also determine whether they qualify for adoption assistance before finalizing an adoption because certain agreements must be completed before finalization.
How Long Does Foster Care Adoption Take in Georgia?
There is no single timeline for foster care adoption.
Georgia DFCS states that the timeframe varies depending on the circumstances of the child and the family interested in adopting.
Factors that can affect the timeline include:
- Whether the prospective parents are already approved;
- Whether the child is legally available for adoption;
- The status of parental rights;
- Whether reunification is still being pursued;
- The child’s medical or behavioral needs;
- The availability of an appropriate adoptive placement;
- Whether siblings are involved;
- Required agency evaluations;
- Court scheduling; and
- Whether any party contests an aspect of the adoption.
Families should be cautious about anyone who promises that a foster care adoption will be completed within a fixed period without reviewing the specific circumstances.
What Happens After Foster Care Adoption Is Finalized?
Finalization marks the legal completion of the adoption, but it is only the beginning of the family’s long-term relationship.
After finalization, adoptive parents become legally responsible for the child as permanent parents. The child becomes part of the adoptive family with the legal status established by Georgia adoption law.
Families may also need to update important records and documents following finalization, including health insurance, school records, identification documents, and other information as appropriate.
Georgia DFCS also provides post-adoption services intended to help adoptive families address needs that arise after adoption. Some services are limited to families who adopted children with special needs through DFCS, while other supportive services may be available more broadly.
Legal Effects of Foster Care Adoption
Adoption permanently changes the legal relationship between the child and the adoptive family.
Georgia law provides that an adoption decree generally terminates the legal relationships between an adopted individual and former relatives, including the former parent, subject to statutory exceptions. The statute also addresses inheritance and the interpretation of legal documents after adoption.
At the same time, the adoption establishes the legal parent-child relationship between the child and adoptive parents.
Because adoption can have substantial legal consequences, prospective parents should understand the effect of finalization before signing adoption-related documents.
What Should Prospective Foster Adoptive Parents Consider?
Adopting from foster care can be deeply rewarding, but prospective parents should enter the process with realistic expectations.
Important questions include:
- Am I prepared to parent a child who has experienced trauma?
- Can I meet the child’s medical and emotional needs?
- Am I prepared for possible behavioral or educational challenges?
- Can I support the child’s relationship with siblings and other important family members when appropriate?
- Do I have a reliable support network?
- Can I manage the financial responsibilities of raising another child?
- Am I prepared for the possibility that foster placement may initially be aimed at reunification?
- Can I accept that the child may have complicated feelings about adoption?
- Am I willing to seek professional counseling or other services when necessary?
Adoption should be approached as a lifelong commitment rather than simply the final stage of a foster placement.
Common Challenges in Foster Care Adoption
Uncertainty About Permanency
Prospective foster parents may become emotionally attached to a child before knowing whether adoption will ultimately occur. Reunification or another permanency outcome may remain possible.
Trauma and Attachment
Children who have experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment, or repeated placements may have difficulty trusting caregivers or forming secure attachments.
Medical and Developmental Needs
Some children require ongoing medical treatment, therapy, educational services, or specialized care.
Birth-Family Relationships
Depending on the circumstances, children may continue to have meaningful relationships with siblings, relatives, or other people from their past. Adoptive parents should be prepared to consider the child’s history and emotional needs.
Sibling Relationships
Adopting a sibling group can involve substantial additional responsibilities, but preserving sibling relationships can also be extremely important to the children involved.
Post-Adoption Adjustment
Finalization does not automatically resolve the effects of previous trauma. Families may need continuing counseling, educational advocacy, medical services, or other support.
Foster Care Adoption vs. Private Adoption in Georgia
Foster care adoption and private adoption are different legal and practical processes.
In a private adoption, the prospective adoptive parents may work with a birth parent, adoption attorney, licensed agency, or other authorized professional depending on the type of adoption. Foster care adoption involves children who are in the state’s child welfare system and therefore involves DFCS and the child’s existing case.
Foster care adoption can provide an opportunity to adopt an older child, sibling group, or child with special needs who needs a permanent home. Private adoption more commonly involves circumstances in which the birth parents are voluntarily placing a child for adoption.
The appropriate process depends on the circumstances of the child and the prospective parents.
Foster Care Adoption vs. Relative Adoption
Relative adoption is another distinct category of adoption.
Georgia law specifically provides for adoption by certain relatives, including grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great-uncles, and siblings.
A relative who is caring for a child through foster care may have additional legal considerations because the child’s relationship to the prospective adoptive parent can affect the applicable adoption process.
Families in this situation should determine whether the case should proceed through a relative-adoption provision, DFCS adoption process, or another legal pathway.
Can a Foster Child Be Adopted by a Relative?
Yes, potentially. A relative may be considered as a permanent placement for a child in foster care, depending on the child’s circumstances, legal status, and applicable DFCS and court procedures.
Georgia law specifically recognizes adoption by certain relatives, while DFCS has policies and procedures concerning relative placements and adoptions.
When a child is already in DFCS custody, relatives should notify the appropriate caseworker as soon as possible and obtain legal advice regarding the available options.
Do You Need an Adoption Attorney for Foster Care Adoption?
Families should understand that agency approval and court finalization are separate parts of the adoption process.
An adoption attorney can help prospective parents understand the legal side of the process, including:
- Eligibility and adoption requirements
- The child’s legal status
- Parental-rights issues
- Consent and surrender requirements
- Adoption petitions
- Court filing requirements
- Adoption hearings
- Adoption finalization
- Adoption-assistance agreements
- Interstate adoption issues
- Post-adoption legal questions
Legal representation can be particularly useful when the case involves contested parental rights, complicated family relationships, interstate placement, prior court orders, or other unusual circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions About Foster Care Adoption in Georgia
Can anyone adopt a foster child in Georgia?
No. Prospective adoptive parents must satisfy Georgia’s legal qualifications and complete the applicable DFCS approval process when adopting through the foster care system. DFCS evaluates whether prospective parents can safely and permanently meet the child’s needs.
Do you have to be married to adopt from foster care?
No. Georgia law permits qualified individuals to petition for adoption. Married couples are also eligible, subject to the applicable requirements.
Can a single person adopt a foster child?
Yes, provided the prospective parent satisfies Georgia’s requirements and completes the applicable approval process.
Can foster parents adopt the children they foster?
They may be able to if the child becomes legally available for adoption and the foster parents are approved and selected as the permanent adoptive family. A foster placement does not automatically guarantee adoption.
How old must you be to adopt in Georgia?
Georgia generally requires an individual seeking to adopt to be at least 21 years old or married and living with a spouse. Georgia also generally requires the petitioner to be at least 10 years older than the child, subject to statutory exceptions for stepparents and certain relatives.
Can I adopt a teenager from foster care?
Yes. Georgia’s foster care adoption system includes older children who need permanent families. DFCS specifically highlights older children and sibling groups among children seeking adoptive homes.
Can I adopt siblings from foster care?
Potentially. Sibling groups may be placed together for adoption when an appropriate family is available. DFCS recognizes sibling groups placed together as one category that can qualify for adoption assistance under applicable criteria.
Does Georgia provide financial assistance for foster care adoption?
Some children who meet Georgia’s adoption-assistance criteria may qualify for ongoing assistance, medical coverage, and certain non-recurring adoption expenses. Eligibility must be established before finalization when required.
Does foster care adoption have to be finalized in court?
Yes. Adoption is a legal process that culminates in a court order establishing the permanent legal parent-child relationship.
How long does foster care adoption take?
The timeline varies. Georgia DFCS states that the adoption timeframe depends on the circumstances of the child and the interested family.
Contact a Georgia Adoption Attorney
Foster care adoption can give a child the permanent family, stability, and sense of belonging that every child deserves. It can also provide prospective parents with the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with a child who needs a permanent home.
At the same time, foster care adoption involves more than simply bringing a child into your home. The process can involve DFCS approval, background screening, training, home assessment, matching, parental-rights proceedings, adoption assistance, court filings, and finalization.
If you are considering adopting a child from foster care in Georgia, an experienced adoption attorney can help you understand the legal process, identify potential issues, and prepare for the court proceedings necessary to establish the adoption.
Important: This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Georgia adoption laws, DFCS policies, and court procedures can change. The requirements and legal options in an individual foster care adoption depend on the specific facts of the case. Consult a qualified Georgia adoption attorney regarding your circumstances.
Sources and Additional Information
Footnotes & Credits
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