Foster to Adopt
Sometimes through the foster care process, a foster caregiver will make the decision to adopt a child. This can occur if the child has been emancipated from their birth parents and is therefore eligible for adoption.
Usually the children available for adoption from foster care are older, with the average age being around nine. A lot are teenagers and pre-teens, with almost 50% coming from minorities. About 40% of these children are in sibling groups who must be adopted together. All of these children are looking for the security of a permanent family situation.
It can take between nine months to one year to finalize an adoption. The length of time depends on how long it takes to find a child, get the recommendations to adopt a child, and completion of the supervision and visitation periods prior to finalization in court.