DISCLAIMER: Although I am an attorney, I am not your attorney. Nothing written here should be construed as legal advice. If you have any questions on what the law is or how it applies to you, you should consult an adoption or family law attorney.
With that said, I'm happy to answer questions anecdotally based on my personal experience.
Other caveats: C and I are going through DCS (Department of Child Services) and not through a not-for-profit agency such as The Villages or Children's Bureau. I can only assume that their processes are different. Also, as we don't currently have any children, our experience may be markedly different from families who already have children and are looking to adopt. And, obviously, this process likely varies widely from state-to-state.
ONWARD!
C and I started this process by making an inquiry on a pair of siblings that we saw on AdoptUSKids. We sent in the inquiry on a Thursday, and received a response on Friday. I don't want to say it was an automated response, but it was definitely a form letter. Since we had not had a home study and were not approved to adopt from foster care, we were told that we needed to contact the SNAP (Special Needs Adoption Program) Specialist for our region. In our case, that was a woman by the name of Sharon Swanson. What they didn't tell me was that my inquiry had already been forwarded to her. So I called and emailed her for no reason. Sorry Sharon!
Definition-- In Indiana, the term "special needs" applies to children who meet one or more of the following criteria:
A "special needs child" is:
- A child who is two (2) years of age or older; or
- A child who is a member of a sibling group of two or more children of which at least one is two (2) years of age or older and who will be placed with the sibling group in the same home; or,
- A child with a medical condition or a physical, mental, or emotional disability as determined by a physician or psychiatrist licensed to practice in Indiana or another state.
She finally got back to us the following Tuesday. She sent us a letter with a high-level overview (the highest of all levels) of the adoption process. At the end of the letter, we were given three options:
1. I am interested in fostering and do not wish to adopt.
2. I am interested in becoming a licensed foster parent but my goal is adoption (foster to adopt) or
3. I am interested in adoption only; I do not want to become a licensed foster parent at all.
It took us the rest of the week to really understand the differences between these options, but I'll come to that later. After some assurances that it's really quite rare for children who have been labeled as "legal risk" to be ultimately placed with a family member, we decided to go for Option 2.
Definition-- A "legal risk" status occurs when a child’s case plan changes from reunification with the birth family to adoption, yet the state is still in the legal process of terminating the parental rights. While in that process, the child may be moved into their pre-adoptive placement so that bonding/attachment can begin to develop. These placements are also referred to as “legal risk placements”.
Choosing Option 2 meant that we were referred to the Foster Care office, because we'd need to be licensed as foster parents in order to take "legal risk" kids. C and I called the secretary at that office, a nice woman named Linda Stahl, who told us a bit about the foster care licensing process. She also sent us information on the Orientation program.
Last Friday, I decided to send an email to Sharon and outline the process as I understood it to see if I had things right. The answer to that was an emphatic no. Since it took quite a few emails and a 15-minute phone conversation to straighten it all out, I'll outline the process here for anyone else who's in the same boat:
- At the end of the Orientation session, prospective parents are assigned a foster care specialist to assist them through the training and the home study process. Tell this person that your goal is to adopt, and that you've been working with the SNAP Specialist.
- Potential adoptive parents and potential foster parents must undergo the same 4 training classes. Once the training has been completed, the home study will be scheduled.
- After the home study, remind the foster care specialist that your goal is to adopt and ask her to present your home study to the SNAP Council. She will know what that means.
- Once your home study is approved by the SNAP Council, you’ll be eligible to adopt those kids who are free for adoption.
- Once you’ve been licensed as foster parents, you’ll be eligible to have the legal-risk kids placed with you.
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