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How You Can Become Gay Foster Parents or Adoptive Parents

As you research ways to build your LGBT family, you may come across information on becoming gay foster parents. Foster care adoption is a wonderful way to bring a child into your life, not to mention a way to provide a home and support system to a child who desperately needs it.LGBT foster care adoption is not much different than any other foster care adoption: You’ll have to meet certain requirements and be fully prepared for the challenges of the process. You typically have two options for bringing a foster child into your home: through a foster-to-adopt program or by adopting a child whose parents’ rights have been terminated and, therefore, who is already free for adoption. The state foster care system is the most popular way of growing a family in the U.S. today.
Here’s how each process works:
- Foster-to-adopt: A child who has been removed from their parents’ custody is placed into your home for support and safety. The ultimate goal of foster care is reunification, so the state will give the child’s legal parents an opportunity to meet certain requirements that will allow them to take the child back into their custody. When you choose foster-to-adopt, you welcome a child into your home with the hope that they will eventually be freed for adoption. However, becoming gay foster parents in this way can be difficult when a child is placed back with their legal parents.
- Adopt a waiting child: To avoid potential disruption from foster-to-adopt, some same-sex foster parents instead choose to adopt a child who has already been freed for adoption. There will usually be a period where the child lives with you before the adoption (for adjustment and to make sure it’s the right fit). Once you meet your state’s pre-placement requirements, you will be able to legally adopt the child.