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What is the difference between foster care and adoption?

Foster Care

Foster Care is the temporary placement of children who are unable to remain in the family home due to issues such as abuse, neglect and parent/child conflict. The immediate goal of foster care is always reunification of the child with his/her birth parents. A child may remain in foster care for a little as 1 day, or as long a year. The length of time depends on the work families need to do in order for the child to return to a safe and healthy environment.

Adoption

Adoption is when the courts have legally indicate that you are the parents of a child. Children who are adopted have the same legal rights as children who are born biologically. As an adoptive parent you are legally free and responsible for making all decisions necessary to raise your child.

Can I be approved for both Foster Care and Adoption?

Licensed by the state of PA

TRAC is licensed by the state of Pennsylvania, to provide both foster care and adoption. Because of this, all of TRAC’s families are approved to provide both foster care and adoption.

Who are the children that are available for adoption?

Available children

Most of the children placed for adoption are between the ages of 5 and 21. The average age of child placed for adoption through TRAC is 6 years old. While foster and adoptive families are need for ALL children, TRAC encourages families to consider the placement of older children (12 years of age and older), older children and their siblings and teen parents with their babies. Since the children come from the Child Welfare system, most qualify for the federal definition of ‘special needs’

• Ages 6 and over
• Sibling groups
• African American or members of other minority groups
• Children with medical, psychological or emotional challenges

What is the process to be approved?

The first step in the process is to call TRAC for an intake

Once this information is obtained, you will receive a telephone call from one of TRAC’s recruitment specialist and a time for an orientation will be scheduled. During the orientation, you will receive information on the entire approval process including mandatory training, paperwork, homework, clearances, etc. After the completion of training, you will be contacted by the specialist assigned to complete your Family Profile (AKA Home Study). Once your family profile has received internal approval, you will be scheduled to review and sign the document. At this meeting, you will have the opportunity to meet with your assigned Matching Specialist to further discuss the matching process and to answer any lingering questions you may have.

What is the cost to adopt?

Adoption costs vary by case

Since adoption costs vary, it is difficult to state a specific amount families will be required to pay. In most instances, if you adopt a child from the Pennsylvania foster care system, legal fees associated with the adoption, are waived. However, legal fees will be incurred when adopting a child from outside the state of Pennsylvania and/or private infant adoptions. The cost can range from $1000 – $5000 depending on the case.

Other costs include:
• Updated Act 33 – Child Abuse clearances ($10.00 each for every adult and child in the home 14 years of age and older.
• Updated Act 34 – State Police clearances ($10.00 each for every adult and child in the home 14 years of age and older.
• FBI fingerprints and clearances (Approximately $40 per adult age 18 years of age and older)
• Physical Exams and TB tests for each adult in the home
• First Aid and CPR ($35.00 per adult 18 years of age and older)

What is a Family Profile?

Assessing your readiness to adopt

A Family Profile is also known as a homestudy. It is a series of meetings between you and a social worker/caseworker you are assigned through TRAC’s BAS, program that provides more in-depth information about adoption and foster care and helps prepare you for parenting a child with special needs. It is a way for the social worker/caseworker to assess your readiness to adopt or foster a child, and a means for you to learn more about what will be required. It is also a process to help you clarify your own thinking.

There is no set format that adoption agencies use to conduct their family profiles. Although they must follow the general regulations of their state, TRAC conducts interviews with each applicant parent and holds educational groups with several families at once. In general, the groups cover topics such as state regulations, parenting skills, and practical hints to help a child adjust to the new family.

TRAC asks applicants for written information about themselves and their life experiences. TRAC also requires certain documents such as: a marriage license, physical exam, criminal history check, and child abuse clearance. Personal character references are also required.

For the family profile process, there will be at least one interview in your home. An important point here: the worker is not visiting your home in order to conduct a “white glove” inspection! He/she simply needs to see if the child will be entering a safe and healthy environment and whether you have thought ahead as to how you are going to accommodate the new family member. Remember that even though the family profile may seem invasive or lengthy, it is conducted in order to prepare you and help you decide whether adoption and/or foster care is right for you. The regulations serve to protect the best interest of the child and to make sure he/she is placed in a loving, caring, healthy, and safe home.

Separate bedrooms for each adopted child?

Do I need a separate bedroom for each adopted child? Can they share a bedroom with birth children?

This depends on the age, sex, and history of the children. Once a child is 5 years of age they cannot share rooms with a child of opposite sex. Adopted children can share rooms with birth children.

Will the adoption agency conduct a credit check on me?

You must submit credit reports for each applicant

As part of the approval process, you must submit credit reports for each applicant. The credit report is just one of many tools used to determine an applicant’s ability to adopt and/or foster a child.

Will TRAC contact my neighbors and co-workers to ask questions about me?

Applicants must obtain references from 6 individuals

As part of the approval process, applicants must obtain references from 6 individuals who can attest to their ability to foster/adopt a child. References must have known the applicants for at least 5 years and can be a combination of family, friends and co-workers.

Special needs adoption.

Do agencies that focus on special needs adoption only focus on children who are severely mentally, emotionally and physically challenged?

No. The term special needs is federally defined and includes children over the age of 6, siblings who are placed together, and children belonging to a defined minority group.

After I select an agency...

After I select an agency, do I just wait for them to place a child? What if I see a child on the Internet? Will I get to select which child is placed with me?

No. Families are an active part in the matching process. You will have regular contact with your assigned matching specialist, who will keep you updated on searches done on your behalf. You are also encouraged to review online databases of available children once your family profile has been completed and approved. When you see children that interest you, contact your matching specialist who will be able to follow-up with the county/state worker to determine the child’s specific needs and if they are still available for placement. Families SHOULD NOT make contact with the county agency.

If the county agency and your matching specialist believe the child may be a good match for your family, additional information is obtained on the child that gives in-depth information regarding the child’s challenges and needs. This information will be shared and discussed with the family. At that time, the family has the option to determine to move to the next step in the matching process. Families are encouraged to remember that many people may be interested in the same child. When that is the case, the county will schedule an interview with the families, after which they will make a selection on the family that best meets the needs of the child.

Will I be placed with a child when...

Will I be placed with a child once all of the paperwork, training and family profile are complete?

No. Once you are approved, your matching specialist will begin the process by submitting your information to county workers who have children available for placement. While the approval process was daunting, waiting for the placement of your child is perhaps the hardest part of the process. Based on your interests and the needs of the children available for adoption placement, it could take more than a year before a child is actually placed in the home.

This may be different for families choosing and/or willing to do foster care. Because foster care is the immediate placement of a child, the time from approval to placement could be very short.

Legal risks?

What are the legal risks in adoption?

There are 3 levels of risk with regards to the children placed in the home.

• High legal risk are the cases where the rights of the birth parents have not yet been terminated by the courts. These children very often still have regular visits with birth family members as the courts decide what type of permanency is in the best interest of the child.
• Low legal risk are the cases where the child’s goal may be moving towards adoption, but parental rights have not been terminated. In some cases, these children may still have visitation with birth parents until the goal has been changed by the court.
• No legal risk are cases where the parents’ rights to the child have been terminated by the courts. In most cases, the child and birth parents do not have any visitation.

Contact with my child’s birth parents?

Once my adoption is finalized, do I still need to maintain contact with my child’s birth parents?

The answer to this varies case by case. While Pennsylvania is a ‘closed adoption’ state – which means adoption records are closed and sealed, it is important that adoptive families understand that emotional connections between children and birth parents remain. During the approval process, families are asked the level of openness they are willing to consider between their child and birth family members. This might include telephone contacts and letters, occasional contact with birth parents and grandparents and ongoing contact with their siblings. In some cases, this may include contact with previous foster parents with whom the child has established positive and lasting relationships. This can be particularly important for the older child/teen, who has established relationships with family members, friends and the community. When appropriate, maintaining these relationships is beneficial in the child’s ability to overcome the trauma they have experienced.

Cost...

What is the cost to adopt?

Since adoption costs vary, it is difficult to state a specific amount families will be required to pay. In most instances, if you adopt a child from the Pennsylvania foster care system, legal fees associated with the adoption, are waived. However, legal fees will be incurred when adopting a child from outside the state of Pennsylvania and/or private infant adoptions. The cost can range from $1000 – $5000 depending on the case.

Other costs include:
• Updated Act 33 – Child Abuse clearances ($10.00 each for every adult and child in the home 14 years of age and older.
• Updated Act 34 – State Police clearances ($10.00 each for every adult and child in the home 14 years of age and older.
• FBI fingerprints and clearances (Approximately $40 per adult age 18 years of age and older)
• Physical Exams and TB tests for each adult in the home
• First Aid and CPR ($35.00 per adult 18 years of age and older)

Choosing the child...

Can I choose the type of child I wish to adopt?

Yes. During the approval process, there will be several opportunities to discuss the types of children that will fit best in your family. Applicants are asked to determine the age, race and special challenges of the children they wish to parent. Once in the matching phase, your Matching Specialist will utilize several data bases to search for available children falling within your specified criteria. However, during training and subsequent discussions, families often expand their initial requests based on the additional information received. With the exception of challenges that you consider unacceptable, families are encouraged to keep an open mind their potential child. Families should never seek a “perfect” child, but rather a child who they are willing to assist in becoming the best they can be.

Contact with birth parents...

Will I need to have contact with the child’s birth parents?

Establishing a working relationship between the foster and birth parents has been proven to add stability to the child’s placement and decreases the amount of time spent in out-of-home care. When a child doesn’t not emotionally feel the need to choose between parents, they are then free to be comfortable in the foster home. Those who foster teens are specifically required to meet with birth parents to establish such a relationship. These meetings are scheduled by and held at TRAC.

Responsibilities...

What are my responsibilities as a foster or adoptive parent?

Adoptive Parents: The role and responsibilities of (pre)adoptive are simple. You are the child’s parent, and, as such, you are expected to provide for him/her as you would for any child in your home. You will be responsible for transporting your child to medical, dental, and any special therapy appointments. You are also expected to have medical/dental forms filled out for your child, share all educational records, and be in touch with your adoption caseworker regarding the overall adjustment of the child in your home. Also, as a TRAC family, you will work as part of the team, to ensure the needs of the child are met. This will/may include transporting the child to visits with their birth parents.

Foster Parents: Even though the child is placed in your home only temporarily, your roles and responsibilities are similar to that of any parent. Since the child has been placed in your home due to abuse and/or neglect, it is the responsibility of foster parents to participate in assisting the child in healing from these traumatic life experiences. You will be responsible for transporting your child to medical, dental, and any special therapy appointments. As a TRAC family, you will work as part of the team, to ensure the needs of the child are met. This will/may include transporting the child to visits with their birth parents.

It is very important for you to inform your adoption caseworker of any changes in your family situation. These changes include housing, income, marital status, marital stability, and other persons planning to move in or out of your home. Also, as a TRAC family, you are expected to keep your home within the Department of Public Welfare regulations (i.e. yearly criminal and child line clearances, yearly physicals, 15 hours of parent training yearly, yearly, home inspections, etc.)

Training.

Is training provided by TRAC?

Yes. TRAC provides all pre-service training needed for a family to be approved as foster and/or adoptive parents. The training topics are designed to provide applicants with as much information as possible, in order to be prepared to accept the placement of a child into their home. ALL families are also required to receive at least 15 hours of recertification training each year. These ongoing trainings are also provided by TRAC. Other training options are also available to families. If training is obtained outside of TRAC (recertification trainings ONLY), you should contact your caseworker in advance to make sure the training will be accepted towards your annual hours.

Approved by another agency?

I am already approved by another agency. Can I still work with TRAC?

No. Families are not permitted to work with more than one agency at a time. If a family wishes to be approved by TRAC, they must first end their relationship with the current agency.

Financial assistance.

Is there any financial assistance?

Adoption: Adoption assistance, which often includes medical insurance, is a financial supplement that enables families to manage the physical, emotional, and/or mental disabilities of the children they adopt. Without this assistance, the medical, psychological, or educational services might overwhelm a family’s financial resources. Adoption assistance gives families who have the willingness and commitment to adopt a special needs child the financial means to do so. All children with special needs are potentially eligible for adoption assistance. It is up to the county where the child’s legal parent resides to decide the type and amount of assistance the family will receive on behalf of the child placed in the home. Adoption assistance usually ends on the child’s 18th birthday.

Adoption assistance comes in three (3) forms:
• Nonrecurring Adoption Expenses refer to reasonable and necessary costs which are directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs (family profile fees, travel for pre-adoptive visits, court costs, and attorney fees).
• Maintenance Payments are monthly cash payments intended to help defer the costs of providing food, shelter, clothing, and other incidental expenses associated with child rearing.
• Medical Assistance Cards are provided to all children in the legal care of the county children and youth agency and entitle children to any benefits available under the Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Program.

Foster Care: Foster families receive a daily stipend as reimbursement for the expenses incurred for the placement of a child. The amount of the actual (per diem) is determined by the county from where the child is placed, and may be adjusted if the child has severe needs that require additional financial resources.

Support after Adoption.

What kind of support is available after the adoption is finalized?

Once your adoption is finalized, the goal becomes ensuring the child is able to work through any issues they may have during the various milestones in their life. TRAC’s post permanency therapists are available to work with you and your child, in your home, to develop the skills necessary to overcome challenging times. Parents can request TRAC provide this service by contacting the Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption & Permanency Network (SWAN). This 6 month service, which includes respite, is paid for by the state of Pennsylvania.

TRAC’s outpatient therapists provide traditional in-office therapy for families. Therapists are trained in topics such as parent/child conflict, school problems, attachment, ADD/ADHD and other mental health related diagnoses. Therapists are credentialed to accept various insurances, to eliminate costs to families for this service.

TRAC also believes that the best support comes from other families. TRAC’s Chat N Chill support group meets monthly during the school year. This popular event is very family friendly with break-out groups for small children tweens and teens. This allows for young people to do activities and/or have discussions relevant to them, while parents are participating in discussions and skill development in a separate area.

Adopting foster children.

Would I be able to adopt my foster child?

In most cases the answer is YES. The initial goal of children entering the foster care system, is reunification with birth parents or birth family members. When this is not possible, and the courts terminate the rights of birth parents, the decision is made regarding the possible permanent home that will best meet the needs of the child. It is always the goal to have children experience as few moves as possible. Those responsible for the safety and permanency of children, recognize the trauma associated with multiple moves. However, the decision for permanent placement of a child is made by the custodial (county) agency, and is based on a number of factors, including the family’s ability to effectively handle the specific, physical, emotional and medical challenges of the child.

Financial requirements?

Do I have to make a certain amount of money in order to adopt?

There is no financial requirement to be approved as a foster or adoptive parent. However, the family must be able to show that their household income is sufficient to meet their current family needs and obligations. Each parent applicant must submit proof of their income as well as a credit report to show their ability to accept the placement of another person into the home.