Creating or expanding your family through adoption is an enriching and rewarding experience. Each year, hundreds of people from all walks of life adopt through our agency.
If you would like to adopt a child from foster care through DCFS, the first step is completing the Resource Family Approval (RFA) process. Once you are approved, you will be eligible to foster a child. During the RFA process, make your goal to adopt clear to your social worker so they can keep that in consideration throughout the process.
Jump To SectionGrowing up, Sam always felt out of place. Though he didn’t know it at the time, being gay in a small town with a family who couldn’t understand would mean a life of hardship, of feeling different, and of rooting for the underdog. It’s for this reason Sam was compelled to a life of fostering.
“I felt I was different in some way, not realizing it was because I was gay […] so I want children born with the cards stacked against them, whether it’s not having prenatal care, drugs, not taking care of themselves – no child deserves that, no matter their race, religion, or anything else.”
When Sam started fostering, he understood the long road he would face as an LGBTQ, single man, looking to adopt. After having two newborns placed with him, and subsequently, having those newborns leave to be reunited with their families, Sam felt the sting of loss, while knowing that this was a very real possibility when fostering newborn babies.
“My determination and dream was to have a family. After [the second child was removed], it came to a point when I was asking, ‘why am I doing this to myself?’. But I believe that in all the heartbreak I’ve experienced, the amount of work I did for these babies surpassed all that heartache. I would much rather experience the heartbreak, than not have had them with me.”
Finally, Sam got the call – a tiny safe surrender baby looking for a home. Weeks later, Sam is finally on the road to adoption thanks to the perfect storm of support from his agency, his social worker at DCFS, and the circumstances surrounding a safe surrender baby. Through all the heartache, Sam is one step closer to the family he’s always wanted, all the while knowing how many families he’s helped along the way.
*In order to protect the anonymity and privacy of our families, names have been changed and photos are randomized.
Home > Caregivers > Adopt a Foster Child
It is important to remember that DCFS’s goal is the reunification of the family unit, which studies have shown is often the best outcome for the child’s development and well-being. In most cases, children who are removed from their homes are able to reunite with their parents once stability is restored in their home.
However, there are many situations when adoption is not only possible, but necessary. In times like these, we need resource parents like you to provide a permanent, safe home for a child.
A foster child doesn’t stop having needs simply as the result of leaving foster care via adoption. As such, you may be eligible to receive financial assistance through the Adoption Assistance Program to facilitate providing for the needs of the child after the adoption.
An “independent adoption” is an adoption in which the birth parent selects the family for the child and places the child directly with the selected family. The act of selection by the birth parent is based on the personal knowledge of the birth parent regarding the prospective adoptive family.
A step-parent adoption is one in which a step-parent files a petition with the court to adopt his/her stepchild while the spouse/birth parent retains his or her custody and control of the child.
Adoption is a life-long process and as such, the needs of children and their families do not end when an adoption is finalized. The DCFS Resource Family Support and Permanency Division created a specialized unit to provide services and support to adoption triad members (adoptive parent, adoptee, birth parent) after adoption finalization occurs.
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