We are so glad you have an interest in getting started on becoming an adoptive or foster parent. Welcome! You may be just the person to make all the difference in a waiting child's life.

The information we have compiled here is just the beginning and will give you an idea of what to do next and how to approach finding out if this life-changing decision is for you. Even if you decide in the end not to adopt or foster a child, we so appreciate your interest and hope you will tell others about the children who are waiting for a parent or two.

You may come across the term "Special Needs" in reference to the children. While this may refer to a specific medical condition that a child has, it also refers to the loss and sadness that the children have experienced in their short lives. Children in foster care in the United States are most often there as a result of being neglected or abused. All of them have been moved from their birth families and have lost the people and places and things familiar to them. Having this happen to an adult would hurt but imagine having it happen in childhood. The children may be confused and sad and justifiably angry and wondering if they can ever trust anyone again. They are living in temporary situations and yearn for the stability and predictability that we all need. You may be just the person to provide this to one child or several! (There are many, many sibling groups who need to be placed together.)

We wish you the best of luck on this marvelous journey. Let us know if we can help.

New to Foster Care or Adoption?

 

You don't have to be perfect...

The Ad Council teams with AdoptUsKids to raise awareness about teens who are in foster care and waiting for "forever families" to adopt them. View the public service advertisements (PSAs).

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