DCFS - Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

The mission of the Adoption and Permanency Resources Division is to recruit, study, prepare and support families to provide healthy, stable, loving and permanent homes to children who can not safely live with their birth parents. We welcome and need all capable families – regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, martial or domestic partnership status, physical characteristics, national origin, medical status or disability status – to help us fulfill this mission.

Adoption Questions

What are the differences between foster care, fost-adopt and adoption?
Foster care is intended to be a temporary substitute family for the protection of a child. The goal of foster care is to re-unite the child with his or her birth family. Adoption is intended to last a lifetime and to provide a child with a permanent family when birth parents are unable to parent. Adoption creates a legal parent-child relationship. Adoptive parents have the same rights and responsibilities as parents whose children are born to them.

A fost-adopt placement occurs when approved adoptive families take children into their homes pending the termination of the birth parents rights to the child. Prior to termination of rights, the child is in the family's home under the guidelines of foster care. Once parental rights are terminated adoptive placement papers can be signed.

Do I have to be married to adopt?
No. Single, married, partnered, divorced, widowed or legally separated adults can adopt – regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

Do I have to own a home to adopt?
No. Home ownership is not required, but your living arrangement needs to have bedroom space and provide a safe environment for a child.

Is adoption expensive?
No. Many families who adopt through the Department of Children and Family Services have little to no adoption costs. DCFS waives it's fee for all adoptions of children with special needs. If a family incurs any adoption related costs, up to $400.00 of the costs can be reimbursed to the family after the adoption is finalized through the Non-Recurring Adoption Expense Program. There are tax credits for adoption related expenses for which a family may qualify. Public Counsel and the Alliance for Children's Rights provide pro bono legal services to assist families with finalizing their adoption of a court dependent child.

Is there financial and medical assistance available to adoptive families?
Yes. The Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) provides an adoption subsidy, and medical coverage is available through Medi-Cal for children from the time of adoptive placement until age eighteen, or until age twenty-one if the child has a physical or mental handicap. All children in the dependency system are eligible for AAP benefits. The amount of assistance is equivalent to the amount the child would have received in foster care.

What is meant by "special needs" children?
A child is considered special needs if the child meets one of the five following criteria: a child of minority ethnicity; a child three years or older; a sibling group of children who need to be placed together; a child with severe physical or emotional disabilities; a child with adverse parental background.

What are the important qualities considered in the selection of adoptive parents?
When identifying a family for a child, the child's needs are taken into consideration. Successful adoptive parents tend to be patient, flexible and have a strong desire to nurture, parent and love a child.

Can I adopt a child of a different race or ethnicity than my family?
Adoptive parents are not required to be of the same race or ethnic background as the child they adopt. As part of the adoption home study, families are asked to consider their comfort and ability in meeting the cultural and identity needs of a child of another race or ethnicity.

How long will it take for me to adopt?
As each family and adoption is unique, the time between the adoption orientation and the finalization of the adoption varies. The agency is committed to making every effort to place children with appropriate adoptive families as quickly as possible. Some of the factors that may impact the time an adoption takes include: type of child requested by the family, the family's readiness to obtain/complete the required home study forms and documents, and the number and complexity of cases the adoptions social worker is assigned.

If I live outside the United States, can I adopt a child?
Our agency is licensed to do domestic adoption only. If you are interested in international adoption, you would need to work with one of your local adoption agencies that has an international program. They can do your adoptive homestudy and assist you in finding a child from another country.

How do I get started?
If you are only interested in learning more about adoptions, or if you are sure you want to adopt, the next step is to attend an orientation meeting . Click here for the schedule

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