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 in a small percentage of cases. By approaching fostering 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 foster care.

Fostering to adopt requires supporting the reunification goal.

Yes, becoming a foster parent with the hope of adopting is possible. However, most foster care agencies, like CCR, discourage fostering with the sole intent of adopting. We cannot guarantee that adoption will occur. The chances of adoption are relatively low, and many people experience heartbreak along the way.

Being a foster parent means supporting the biological family while they work toward reunification with their children. This can be difficult for some foster parents if they hope to adopt. The majority of Wisconsin foster kids will be reunified with their birth family. However, if parental rights are terminated, CCR foster parents will be the first resource considered for adoption.

Exploring becoming a foster parent with the hope of adoption.

• Is your heart leading you to care for and support children temporarily or permanently?
• Are you exploring foster care because you want to adopt a child or support reunification with their family?
• 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 the "system" is imperfect, and hearts are vulnerable to unexpected outcomes?

Most often, the goal of foster care is reunification, but there are other outcomes as shown below according to the most recent data:

• Reunited with birth parents
• Emancipated
• Placed with extended family
• Placed with a guardian
• Adopted

CCR is a foster care licensing and child placement agency.

We work to ensure the safety and well-being of children in foster care and support foster parents in their journey from licensing to placement and beyond.  

While CCR does not offer adoption licensing, we do provide guidance and support to foster parents who pursue adopting their foster kids. CCR will help navigate foster parents through the adoption process seamlessly, ensuring a smooth transition for both the child and the family. There is little to no cost to adopt from foster care. 

Foster parents must emotionally prepare themselves that multiple children/youth may come and go before the possibility of adoption comes along. However, long-term relationships with foster children and their biological families are common. Many foster parents continue to support families and children after reunification.

Growing your family through foster care.

Over the last 35+ years, many families have grown through adoption at CCR. Beautiful families have been built, and many more will follow suit in the coming years. However, very few CCR families begin their foster parenting journey with the intent of adopting. Instead, they are open to the possibility and look forward to an opportunity to adopt a foster child or sibling group.

• Pursuing adoption through traditional sources such as an adoption agency may be best if your goal is to adopt a child. An excellent resource for adoption is adoptuskids.org

The rewards of adopting from foster care are plentiful, and dozens of families will testify to the joy and happiness that fostering and adoption have brought their families. Each will tell you it was never the goal.

Please speak with our team to learn more about becoming a foster parent.