How to Get Started with Adoption or Foster Care

There's a great need for families to adopt and foster all across Texas - especially for school-aged kids, siblings, and teens - but the process can be daunting. We believe families deserve clear information, so our team is committed to ensuring you get honest answers to all your questions. Whether you are thinking about adopting or fostering, supporting friends or family who do, or becoming an advocate in your community, here are three important first steps to help you get started.

Step One: Gather Information

Start by learning all you can about adoption and foster care. It’s critical to understand how children enter foster care, how trauma affects them, and why the system strives to reunite children with their biological families. The needs in your community may surprise you, so you’ll want to keep an open mind. On your journey, you’ll also want to be open to new perspectives: search for stories from the perspective of people who have experienced foster care and adoption, listen for the voices of birth families, and connect with families in your community who are already fostering or adopting.

Feeling overwhelmed? Start with a Foster Care & Adoption Online Info Session. We’ve created a one-hour virtual session to give you a basic understanding of how the child welfare system works and what happens next. Click Here to see the upcoming dates.

Step Two: Ask Questions

It’s equally important to look within and ask questions of yourself and your family, such as: 

• What is motivating me to adopt or foster?
• Why do I think this is the right time to begin?
  
• Are my family and friends on board and willing to support me?
• What gives me confidence I am making the right decisions for my family?

Understanding your motivation is essential. It’s a great way to help you know what role you should play and when to begin. You may find confirmation that you’re ready to become an adoptive or foster parent, or you may decide to support birth families or families that are already fostering or adopting. 

Our Foster Care & Adoption Guides are here to help as you begin considering these important questions. There's no pressure and no judgment – just a guide you can trust.

Step Three: Choose an Agency

When you decide to adopt or foster, you need an agency you can trust to handle the details. The agency you choose becomes your family’s advocate every step of the way, so finding a partner who shares your values, communicates openly, and works with integrity is important. We encourage you to call around and get to know different agencies.

We would love to connect with you if you live near one of our offices in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Itasca or Wichita Falls. Connect with your PCHAS Foster Care & Adoption Guide at 281-324-0544 or fosteradopt@pchas.org.