Western Washington Office Eastern Washington Office
515 116th Ave NE, #174 505 E Wedgewood
Bellevue, WA 98004 Spokane, WA 99208
1-866-958-KIDS (5437) Fax – 425-462-9268
There are thousands of legally free foster children waiting to be adopted into a Forever Family here in Washington State. These are children whose parental rights have been terminated which makes them legal “orphans”. Because they are legally free, you do not need to be licensed as a foster parent in order to adopt.
We understand that decision to adopt is not an easy one and that the more information you have, the better able you will be to make the right decision for you and your family. Below is an Adoption Flowchart to help guide you through the decision making process. For a printable version of this Flowchart, please Click Here.
All prospective adoptive parents much undergo an adoptive home study. The purpose of the adoptive home study is to evaluate whether parents are qualified to adopt. The process involves both education and preparation as well as the gathering of information about the prospective parents. The length of time it takes to complete this varies, but the goal is to have it completed within 90 days. There are many Private Agencies and Individuals who offer Adoption Services to families throughout Region 2.
For a list of Individuals who provide home studies, please visit our Adoption Referrals Page.
For additional information on the Home Study process, please Click Here.
Once your home study is approved, you can register with the Washington Adoption Resource Exchange (WARE). This service will enable social workers to see that you have an approved home study and are waiting for a child.
There are various ways to select a child: A social worker will either contact you about a specific child or you can contact the social worker about a child you found on a web site or heard about.
You and your social worker need to be in contact to get background information about the child. At this point, you may start working with two different social workers – yours and the child’s. Statutorily, the full history on the child’s family, medical and social background must be disclosed to you (WAC 388-27-0090). Once this is done, you and the respective social workers need to decide if this is a good placement. If the decision is made that this is in the best interest of the child, then steps are made to move forward with visitation and placement.
It can take two weeks to several months to place the child in your home depending upon the child’s needs. Factors included in this decision include the age of the child, location of the adoptive family to the current placement, any therapy and medical issues, the child’s school and the child’s well-being.
Visitation usually begins at a location considered safe for the child. The first visit starts with just a couple of hours and gradually visits will lengthen in time, leading to a first overnight. Visits get progressively longer until the child officially moves to your home.
Your social worker continues working with you until the actual adoption finalization. Together, you will arrange for any needed services (child and family, medical, counseling, schooling, etc.) The social worker will come out to your home to check on the well-being of the child and family at least once every 90 days until the adoption is finalized.
1. Contact an attorney. Refer to our Adoption Referral Page for a list of suggested attorneys. 2. Complete the Adoption Support application provided to you by your social worker. When the application is completed and filed, an Adoption Support Program Specialist will be assigned to you. The program specialist will review your application to determine if the child qualifies for the program according to state and federal rules. A negotiated contract (called an agreement) outlining program benefits and terms will then be presented for your signature. The adoption must not be finalized until the agreement is signed by you and the DSHS representative. 3. Your social worker completes a post-placement report. This report provides the court with an update on the child’s and family’s well-being since placement. 4. DSHS provides a Consent to Adopt. This is a written statement authorizing that the child may be adopted. 5. Your social worker sends your attorney a packet containing documents needed to finalize the adoption. 6. Your attorney prepares the documents to present to the court, files the petition to adopt, and gets a court date to finalize the adoption. 7. On the date of finalization, you will go to court as advised by your attorney in order to legally adopt your child.
