Being a foster parent can often lead to providing a foster child with a permanent home through the adoption process. In fact, foster parents are typically given priority when it comes to adopting foster children since kids have already bonded with their foster family.
If you are a foster parent and interested in adopting your foster children, you must let their caseworker know you wish to adopt them. It is important to know that adopting a foster child involves few expenses, but plan to pay for court filings, medical exams, and even safety courses. However, it is possible that all of these costs are waived or not charged at all upon finalization.
The following are the steps to adopting a foster child in Nevada:
- Enroll and complete in parenting courses – Your child’s foster agency will make you take either Parent Resources for Information Development and Education (PRIDE) or Performance and Safety-Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (PS-MAPP) classes.
- Apply to adopt from the foster care system – On the application, you must disclose information related to you, the environment in your home, and the reason why you want to adopt from the foster care system.
- Complete home study – Home study consists of interviews and visits to your home by a caseworker, references from your close peers, police screenings and background clearances.
- Finalize adoption – Once your home study is finished, you must attend a finalization hearing. At the hearing, a judge will declare that the foster child is now legally and permanently part of your family.
The laws related to foster child adoption is complex. In some cases, the biological parents are unwilling to terminate their parental rights. In order to make the adoption process go as smoothly as possible, it is wise to hire an experienced adoption attorney to help you navigate the intricacies of the system.
If you are interested in adopting a foster child in Nevada, contact our Henderson adoption attorneys at Ford & Friedman today.