How do I place my child in the state of California?

Once you decide that adoption is right for you, find a reputable agency that will follow all rules and regulations and will respect your rights as a birth parent. Many agencies will explain all rules, will help the birth parents financially, provide prenatal medical visits, and allow the birth parents to decide if they want a closed or open adoption. After that, the prospective adoptive family will be chosen. A reputable agency will provide training courses for adoptive parents, do a background check, perform a home study before and after the adoption, and complete all legal paperwork to finalize the adoption. A good agency will also respect your wishes about the birth plan; they should respect who you want in the room during the birth, whether or not you want to hold your baby before you surrender him or her, and whether or not you want to meet the adoptive family during the pregnancy, birth, or after surrender. 

In order to be able to legally place your child for adoption, the father must consent to the adoption if the couple is married or if the father’s name is on the birth certificate. A father who is not married or whose name is not on the birth certificate does not have to consent to the adoption as long as he is made aware of the adoption or the court deems the consent not necessary. A child’s custodial parent can place a child for adoption if the other parent has not been involved in the child’s life for a year or more, or if the parent does not respond to an adoption notice. A child over the age of 12 must consent to an adoption.

For adoptions through an agency, surrender papers may be signed at any time after the birth of a child and before discharge from the hospital. In an independent adoption, surrender papers can be signed after discharge from the hospital. 

If the adoption is done through an agency, birth parents have 10 days to change their minds about an adoption after surrender papers have been signed. Birth parents have 30 days to change their mind in an independent adoption.

Adoption is a huge decision. Make sure you are well informed of your options and rights as a birth parent.

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Licensing comes through a process in which a licensing worker will visit your home and meet with you and your family members. The law requires that you have a minimum of personal, safety, and space requirements. Once you have become licensed, you will work with social services to determine the ages of foster children that best fit your home and family.

As specified above, foster care is different in California. There is a program called the Resource Family Approval Program. This program combines elements of the current foster parent licensing, relative approval processes, and approvals for adoption and guardianship and replaces those processes. It is a more streamlined approach, and it eliminates the duplication of the existing processes. It unifies approval standards among all caregivers, includes a comprehensive psychosocial assessment, does home environment check, and offers training for all families.

The sole purpose of a resource family is to provide a sense of safety, permanency, and well-being for the child while the child is in their care. Resource families work with the child’s biological parents and the Child Welfare Services to successfully return the child to his or her parents. If you are interested in becoming a Resource Family, contact your county Child Welfare Services. 

So how many children in California are waiting for a home? In California, there are more than 55,000 children in foster care. About 34 percent of these children are placed with relatives. The majority will return home to their families, but 5,500 are adopted each year with 2,000 children needing an adoptive home every day. Are you interested in becoming a foster family or an adoptive family? Contact the child welfare services in your area.

For more information visit the Department of Social Services or check out California Foster Care and Adoption Guidelines here.

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1. More and more people are seeing foster care as a route to family building.

Becoming a foster parent can be an inexpensive way of building a family–a possible way for adoption in California. Prospective parents are trained in caring for traumatized youth, and receive support to help them throughout the process. Statistics show an increase of about 11% in adoptions through a public child welfare agency between the years of 2014 and 2015.

2. Adoptions cannot be delayed due to the child residing in a different county than the adoptive parents.

According to California law, “The placement of a child for adoption may not be delayed or denied because the prospective approved adoptive family resides outside the jurisdiction of the Department or the licensed adoption agency.”

California is a very large state. This unique statute can assist families in one county who are adopting a child from a different county within the state. While it may be hard to prove that an adoption was delayed due to this, those who suspect the cause of a delay was a county-to-county issue are granted hearings.

3. There is a difference between a ‘legal guardian’ and an ‘adoptive parent’.

According to California state law, the court appoints legal guardians. Guardians will oversee and care for children until they are 18, in most circumstances, but they are subject to supervision by the court during the care period. Once the child is 18, the laws of guardianship no longer apply.  An adoptive parent is assuming the all parental rights and responsibilities. Adoptive parents have the same legal rights as biological parents would have. Guardians only assume some of those rights and cannot make all decisions for the child while in care.

4. The California Government offers many different listings of adoption providers and agencies. 

Sometimes the most confusing part is getting started in the adoption process. California tries to make that a bit easier by offering descriptions of the different types of agencies and adoption professionals.

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You will need to figure out if you want to work with an agency or if you want to work directly with the state. The process afterword is very much the same, and there are pros and cons to either option. An agency offers you further legal protection and adds a layer of buffer between the state and your home. There is often more support built into an agency than the local Department of Children and Family Services, but that is not always the case. An agency means an extra caseworker and extra accountability. There is no right or wrong answer, and you will have to decide for yourself which is the better path. Some counties may require an agency which removes the choice entirely. You can find the information to help you by contacting the Foster Caregiver Policy and Support: Unit 744 P Street, MS 8-13-78, Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-7465.

Once you have figured that part out, you will need to attend an orientation. The orientation helps inform you of policy and procedures and is your first introduction to the intricacies of foster care. You can ask questions, get more information, and receive your application to formally begin the necessary actions.

The next step after turning in your application (which is not unlike a job application but more detailed in some areas) will be a federal and state background check. You’ll be sent to get FBI fingerprinting, and your information will be sent for review.

Following your background check will be the Pre-Approval training. These training will give you the information to really decide if foster parenting is right for you. There will be intensive sessions with real-life scenarios on what to expect. Many families opt to not continue after this portion, and that is quite alright. There is no failure in recognizing when something is not a good fit for you and your family. However, if you make it through the training, a social worker will visit your home for the Home Environment Assessment to make sure your home is a safe environment for children. This will probably feel invasive. They will check to make sure your home is sanitary and safe. You will have been given a checklist to mark off before the worker comes; so as long as you are prepared, this part should be easy. 

Next up is a psycho-social assessment that will tell if you are ready to be a resource to kids in need. Again this may feel invasive, but the idea is to make sure the children are going to a safer, more healthy environment than they are being removed from.

If all of the above comes up okay then you will be approved and will be able to start fostering! Good luck!

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Your first step is to find an adoption agency. They will guide you through the steps you need to take. You need to have a framework of what you are looking to do before you even begin. Are you considering foster-to-adopt or private adoption? Would you like to adopt a waiting child? Do you have a religious affiliation that needs to be considered? Get out a notepad and write down things that are important to you. Order them from most to least important. Now you can search for your parameters. For instance, if you are looking for a Christian adoption agency for a domestic infant adoption you would need to search “Christian infant adoption agencies in (County) and surrounding areas.”

The next part of the process is more specific to the type of adoption you are pursuing. Domestic infant adoptions require less training overall but the same background checks and FBI fingerprinting that other types of adoption would. If you are going through a private agency there is a monetary cost to consider. It is not an inexpensive endeavor, so fundraising, applying for adoption grants, etc may be part of your process. You will also need a home study, which your agency may provide, but again, costs money. A potential birth mother will have to choose you so it can take years and there’s a possibility you may never be matched with an infant. This is something to consider before proceeding.

Waiting child adoption requires a background check and fingerprinting, training, a home study, etc. You will specify the parameters of a child or children you are looking to adopt. You will likely be sent to a photo database to look at potential matches. When you decide there is a child you would potentially like to adopt, then the agency will send your application and home study to the child’s caseworker and care team. They will decide if you are a good match and continue from there. These children have often come from a hard place. This is not the same as adopting a tiny baby (obviously) and can be more difficult emotionally. It is a less expensive (potentially free) process.  It can be time-consuming, and it can take months to years to be matched with a child. 

Foster to adopt means you would first foster a child, and then if they become available for adoption, you could then adopt. Simply being a foster-to-adopt family does not guarantee the children entering your home will be adoptable. Many children may come and go before one becomes adoptable. You need to complete all of the steps to become a foster parent, attend training, etc. This is the least expensive but possibly the most emotionally charged option. You may come to desperately love a child that may return to a less than ideal situation, and you have to come to terms with that idea before you begin.

Every choice has its pros and cons and you will have to decide what is right for your family.

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