Providing a loving home for children who end up in the Texas foster system is a wonderful thing for any person or family to do.
In doing so, many families find themselves at a crossroads, asking the same question: can foster child adoptions happen in Texas?
Adoption lawyers say yes it can, but not in every situation.
Here is some important information from the attorneys for foster parents who are considering adopting their foster child.
Foster Care System Wants Children Returned to Parents
Adoption lawyers advise that the most important point that foster parents must understand about the foster care system is that its goal is to eventually reunite children with their biological parents.
The purpose of foster care is to provide a safe and nurturing home to children who have been removed from the care of their parents until those parents are able to make whatever changes they need to in order to regain custody of their kids.
According to experienced family law attorneys, foster parents must go into this arrangement knowing that the day will likely come when their foster child will go back to their original home.
The Foster Child Adoption Process May Be Long
Lawyers point out that those hoping for foster child adoption must also realize that even if the road back to the biological parents seems long, adoption is not possible unless the actual parents of the child are willing to terminate their parental rights.
Due to these factors, attorneys who specialize in family law advise clients that only a small amount of children in the Texas foster system are ever eligible for adoption.
The Adoption Process Is Not Impossible
On the bright side, for those children who do become eligible to be adopted, adoption by a foster parent can definitely become a possibility according to adoption lawyers.
Foster families interested in adopting through this program should apply to do so as soon as they know they would like to adopt their foster child should the child become available, then work with the help of an adoption attorney to fulfill all of the foster-to-adopt program requirements.
In cases where parental rights are given up or the court decides that the child cannot be returned to the biological parents, the foster family will be the first in line for consideration for legal adoption.
Seek Legal Help For The Foster Child Adoption Process
Parents involved in fostering and interested in foster child adoptions should find an adoption attorney familiar with this process to help them through it.
While there is no guarantee that any child will be able to be adopted by their foster family, parents who are ready to act should that opportunity present itself can hopefully become the legal adoptive parents to a foster child they have welcomed into their home.