On this page, you will find general information about foster care and adoption in the state of Alaska. The information on adoption refers to adopting a child from the foster care system. Once you have made a request to be contacted, you will be contacted so that someone in your state can be of assistance to you.
Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption
Children of all ages and descriptions need families to come forward and foster and/or adopt them. To meet this need, we are looking for all kinds of families. What is most important to these children who wait is to be placed with a family who will nurture them, who will advocate for them and who will not give up on them.
What is fostering?
Foster parents provide a temporary home for children who, for one reason or another, have been removed by the court from the care of their birth parents. These children are placed in the temporary care of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) while their parents are given the opportunity to complete the court-ordered services that will allow the children to be returned home. Most children who enter foster care return to their birth parents. In some case, the birth family is not able to successfully complete services, and the court permanently deprives them of their parental rights. In these cases, the children need adoptive families, and their foster family has the option of being considered. View more information about fostering in Alaska.
What is Adoption?
Adoption is when a child permanently, and legally, joins your family.
Who Can Adopt or Foster?
You can be single, married or in a committed relationship. You can own your own home or rent. You can have parented before or be new to parenting. You don’t have to have a large income. Families are sought on the basis of their ability to successfully parent a child and not on their race, ethnicity or culture, income, age, marital status, religion, appearance or lifestyle.
How Do I Proceed?
In Alaska, in order to adopt a child from the foster care system or to provide foster care, you must complete an Orientation class and our training, which is called CORE Training for Resource Families. The orientation and the CORE class is the same for foster parents, adoptive parents and relative/kinship foster placements (This means people who are caring for children who are related to them and in foster care.).
Orientation
The orientation session runs 1½ hours and presents an overview about the system and the process of foster care licensing and adopting a child from the foster care system. For a current orientation schedule in the Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Mat-Su areas, families should visit the Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF) website. If there is not an orientation in your geographic area, ACRF offers the following options:
- Monthly Telephone Orientation: call 1-800-478-7307 to register
- Web-based orientation
- Self-Study orientation course: call 1-800-478-7307
Resource Family Application
There is a foster licensing process.
It is generally advised that families interested in adoption go through the foster licensing process, too, so that children can more easily be placed in your home.
Fill out the licensing application and send it back. This starts the process of licensing which will include a home visit and background checks. If you are licensed, the Office of Children’s Services can place children in your home. If you wish to adopt, OCS can place children who may become available for adoption.
If you choose not to be licensed for foster care, OCS is still interested in you as an adoptive family, but can only place children who have been legally freed from their birth parents in your home. Be sure to contact the Alaska Center for Resource Families at 1-800-478-7307.
For general information about adoption or foster care in the state of Alaska or to find out about how to sign up for an Orientation class or CORE training, contact The Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF) at 1-800-478-7307 or access the ACRF website.
CORE Training for Resource Families
Many communities offer this class at a site that you will go to. Some rural communities use a self-study option available through ACRF. CORE training is offered once a week for three hours over six weeks. View topics covered in the CORE training class.
Adoption-Only Families: Even if you are not going through the recommended foster licensing process, all potential adoptive families are asked to complete the CORE Training for Resource Families.
Foster and Foster-to-Adopt Families: All potential foster families complete the CORE training, too. When you successfully complete orientation and CORE classes, you will become a licensed foster family. During your first licensing year, you will have a provisional license. After your first successful year as a foster parent, your license status will change to biennial status. This means that your renewal of your license will take place every two years.
Homestudy
After you have completed orientation and the CORE training, the next step is the homestudy. A homestudy is both a process that allows a family and their adoption agency to exchange information and get to know one another and a written document.
If you are currently licensed and have a child in your home that is being considered for adoption, the OCS Regional Adoption Specialist or your social worker can refer you for a homestudy. There are also private homestudy writers who can complete the homestudy document, but you will need to pay for a private homestudy yourself. If you adopt a child from the foster care system through OCS, you can have the cost of your homestudy reimbursed, so keep your receipts. Ask your Regional Adoption Specialist for a list of private homestudy writers.
The private agencies listed below may be able to provide an adoption homestudy for a family. Families who are interested in adopting through a private agency should contact one of the agencies below and inquire about their programs, services and fees.
Alaska Native Families
If you are a member of a Tribal or Native Corporation, you can contact OCS or you can contact your Tribal Social Services Department. If you are interested, some corporations have their own foster care programs and would welcome your interest in becoming a Tribal foster home.
Does it Cost to Foster or Adopt?
There are fees for an adoptive homestudy when it is completed by a private homestudy writer. If a family goes on to adopt a child from the foster care system that is in the custody of Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services (OCS), a portion of their adoption costs can be reimbursed through the Adoption Assistance Program. Families should keep receipts of all of their adoption expenses.
If a family goes on to adopt a child from foster care in another state, the family may be eligible for reimbursement of some adoption-related costs, such as attorney’s fees and court fees, through the child’s state and/or federal options.
There are no fees for becoming a foster parent.
Parent Support Groups
View information about parent support groups, support chat rooms and other support links.
General information on adoption resources and private agencies.
Agency Contact and Orientation Information
For information on how to become a foster and/or adoptive parent, visit the Alaska Center for Resource Families website or call them at 1-800-478-7307.
Information about adopting through a Tribal or Native Corporation.
For general information about adoption or foster care in the state of Alaska or to find out about how to sign up for an Orientation class or CORE training, contact The Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF) at 1-800-478-7307 or access the ACRF website.
Information on Children
There are 1,791 children in foster care in Alaska; 488 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.
View Alaska children who are waiting for an adoptive family.
Upcoming Events
View information about upcoming events.