Adopting from foster care

By Metro Creative

Children and young adults enter foster care for a variety of reasons, including neglect, abandonment or abuse. When these children are no longer able to live safely with their families, agencies look to provide safe care, often with a goal of pairing children with adoptive parents and families. According to AdoptUSKids.org and the most recent federal data, currently there are more than 400,000 children in foster care in the United States. Among those children, approximately 117,000 are waiting to be adopted. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption-Canada says more than 30,000 children are waiting to be adopted from foster care in Canada. The organization Considering Adoption indicates roughly 20,000 children “age out” of foster care each year and are not adopted. Prospective adoptive parents should begin the process of adoption as soon as possible, as the Office of Children and Family Services says the legal process of adoption, from application to finalization, can take six months or more.