Foster to Adopt How it works in New York
Foster to adopt offers families the opportunity to begin as foster parents while remaining open to adoption if it becomes part of a young person’s permanency plan.
For many children and teens entering foster care, that hope begins with temporary care while their family works toward healing and stability. For others, it may eventually lead to another permanent family through adoption.
Every young person deserves to grow up in a safe, loving, and permanent family.
At Together for Youth, we prepare families for both possibilities with honesty, compassion, and support—because every young person’s journey is unique, and every decision should be guided by what is in their best interest.
What Is Foster to Adopt?
Foster-to-adopt is a pathway for individuals and families who are interested in both fostering and the possibility of adoption.
Unlike private adoption, foster-to-adopt always begins with foster care.
Children and youth enter foster care because they cannot safely remain at home, not because they are immediately available for adoption.
As a foster parent, your role is to provide safety, stability, encouragement, and belonging while courts, caseworkers, and families work toward the permanency plan that best serves the young person.
Sometimes that plan is reunification. Sometimes it is placement with relatives or trusted adults. Sometimes, when reunification is no longer possible, adoption becomes the best path forward.
Every journey is different, but every young person deserves caring adults who will walk beside them wherever that journey leads.
Every Young Person Deserves the Right Outcome
At Together for Youth, we believe every young person deserves something greater than foster care or adoption alone. They deserve the opportunity to belong.
Whenever it is safe and possible, that means helping children reunite with their parents or relatives. Family connections matter, and with the right support, many families are able to heal, grow stronger, and safely care for their children again.
When reunification cannot happen, it means helping a young person find another permanent family through adoption or another lifelong connection.
Our responsibility isn’t to pursue one outcome over another. It’s to support the outcome that is in each young person’s best interest.
Families who choose the foster-to-adopt path understand this important distinction. They open their hearts knowing the journey may lead to reunification, or it may lead to adoption. In either case, they become an essential part of helping a young person experience safety, healing, and belonging.
Reunification Comes First
The primary goal of foster care is reunification whenever it is safe and appropriate.
That means helping families overcome challenges, strengthen relationships, and create the stability children need to safely return home.
As a foster parent, you become an important member of a larger team working together to support that goal.
That team may include:
- Birth parents
- Relatives and kinship caregivers
- County caseworkers
- Family Court
- Therapists and counselors
- Schools
- Medical providers
- Community partners
Supporting reunification is one of the most meaningful roles a foster parent can play.
By encouraging family connections, celebrating progress, and supporting the child’s permanency plan, foster parents help young people understand that the adults in their lives are working together because they care about them. Those relationships build trust, resilience, and hope.
When Adoption Becomes the Best Plan
When every reasonable effort has been made to safely reunite a young person with their family, there are times when the court determines another permanent plan is in the child’s best interest.
When parental rights have been legally terminated and adoption becomes the approved permanency plan, foster parents may have the opportunity to become that child’s permanent family.
Adoption provides children and youth with:
- A permanent family
- Lifelong relationships and support
- Stability and security
- Legal permanency
- Opportunities to continue healing and growing
Every young person deserves to know they have people who will love them, encourage them, and remain committed to them for life.
Is Foster-to-Adopt Right for Your Family?
Families interested in foster-to-adopt often share a common belief: Every young person deserves permanence. They also understand that permanence may look different for every child.
You may be a good fit if you:
- Feel called to both foster and potentially adopt.
- Can support reunification while remaining open to adoption.
- Believe every young person deserves a permanent family.
- Are patient, flexible, and compassionate.
- Understand that foster care journeys cannot be predicted.
- Want to make a lifelong difference in the life of a child or teenager.
The most successful foster-to-adopt families focus first on meeting a young person’s needs, wherever the journey leads.
View all Types of Foster Care
What to Expect
Every foster-to-adopt experience is unique, but the journey often includes these steps.
- Attend an Information Session
Meet our team, ask questions, and learn whether foster-to-adopt is the right fit for your family.
- Complete Foster Parent Certification
Complete New York State foster parent requirements, including training, background checks, and a home study.
- Welcome a Young Person Into Your Home
Provide daily care, encouragement, stability, and belonging while working alongside the child’s care team.
- Support the Permanency Plan
Whether the plan is reunification, kinship care, or adoption, foster parents play an important role in helping young people navigate change with confidence and compassion.
- Continue the Journey
If reunification is achieved, you’ll know you helped a family heal.
If adoption becomes the permanency plan and your family is the right fit, Together for Youth will guide you through every step of the adoption process. Either way, your willingness to care has changed a life.
Why Families Choose Together for Youth
For more than 140 years, Together for Youth has helped children, youth, and families build brighter futures across New York State.
Families who foster with Together for Youth receive:
- Comprehensive foster parent training
- Ongoing guidance from experienced professionals
- Trauma-informed education and resources
- A collaborative team focused on each young person’s success
- Continued support before, during, and after placement
No matter how a young person’s story unfolds, our commitment remains the same: Helping every child experience safety, healing, belonging, and hope.
Frequently Asked Questions About Foster to Adopt
Foster-to-adopt is a pathway where families become certified foster parents while remaining open to adopting a child if the child becomes legally eligible for adoption. Every placement begins as foster care, with reunification as the primary goal whenever it is safe and appropriate.
No. Foster care provides temporary care while families work toward reunification or another permanency plan. Adoption is a legal process that may occur only after the court determines reunification is no longer possible and adoption is in the young person’s best interest.
Yes. Many families enter foster care hoping to adopt one day. However, foster parents must also understand and fully support reunification efforts while a child is in foster care.
Sometimes. If a young person becomes legally eligible for adoption and the court determines adoption is the appropriate permanency plan, foster parents may have the opportunity to adopt.
Every child’s journey is different. Some children reunify with their families, while others may eventually become eligible for adoption. Because each case is unique, there is no predictable timeline.
Yes. Together for Youth provides ongoing training, guidance, resources, and support before, during, and after placement. Our team walks alongside foster families throughout every stage of the journey.
Reunification is the primary goal of foster care whenever it is safe and appropriate. While saying goodbye can be emotional, many foster parents find comfort in knowing they helped a family heal and gave a young person the stability, encouragement, and love they needed during an important chapter of life.