Not all families grow through marriage, pregnancy and birth. Some people expand their families by offering care to children born to others. Adoption at birth is one option, but there are also thousands of older children in need of love and care across Louisiana.
Foster care can be a way for your family to give support to children in moments of dire needs. It can also be a way for you to develop a bond with older children that could lead to expanding your family. If you are ready to take the steps to adopt a foster child placed with your family, you probably have a lot of questions. The good news is that the process might be more manageable with the right help than you think.
If you qualify to foster, you will likely qualify to adopt
There are requirements regarding age, living space and overall stability for those seeking to foster or adopt in Louisiana. Thankfully, those requirements are basically the same, which means that if the state already approved you for fostering, you don’t have to worry about whether you will qualify for adoption unless you’ve had financial or legal issues since the initial placement.
Instead, the concerns you need to address will be the thoughts of the children regarding this major decision. For children whose parents are still alive, adoption by foster placements can be emotionally complicated. They may love you and want to be a part of your family but feel anxious about severing ties with their biological parents.
No matter how young the child is, it’s important to have an age-appropriate conversation with them about the idea of adoption before you take any formal steps to initiate the process.
Those hoping to adopt need help navigating the system
Adoption can be a beautiful thing, but it can also be very difficult and stressful for the family involved. If you try to manage every aspect of the adoption on your own, not only could you possibly set yourself up for failure, but you may struggle to handle all of the demands and stress of both parenting and navigating the legal system.
Working with an experienced family law attorney can make it substantially easier for you to focus on your family while transitioning from foster parent to adoptive parent.