How to Adopt a Child in California

Every child deserves to know the love of a family, and you can provide that when you adopt a waiting child in California. As a hopeful adoptive parent, you have three ways to do this: foster care adoption, domestic infant adoption and international adoption.

Here, learn more about how to find children for adoption and the services FCCA offers to help. You can also get more free information when you contact us online at any time. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

3 Ways to Adopt a Child in California

1. Adopt a Waiting Child in California

Our California Waiting Child Program (“fos-adopt”) matches hopeful parents to children in need of permanent, loving homes.

FCCA’s fos-adopt program focuses on low-risk placements, meaning the county has determined that these children cannot safely return to their birth families. Some of the children placed through this program are less than 2 years old. But, when you adopt a child through this method, they will usually be 6 or older.

Or, these adoptable kids are younger but have older siblings who must be placed with them.

If you are interested in children available for adoption from the California foster care system, then you will complete the following steps:

1. Discuss your adoption preferences. When you join our fos-adopt program, you will talk with your social worker about the types of children for adoption you believe would fit well into your family, including the ages, genders and mental and physical health conditions.
    
2. Complete your child search. After you complete the adoption home study, your social worker will begin searching for waiting children who may be a good fit for your family.
    
3. Be approved by the county. If you choose to move forward, then FCCA will submit your home study to the appropriate county. The county will review your home study and determine whether placement with you is in the child’s best interests.
    
4. Attend a disclosure meeting. Next, you’ll attend a disclosure meeting with your social worker and a county social worker to discuss the child’s background. You’ll then decide whether you want to move forward with the potential match.
    
5. Meet the child. You will have an opportunity to meet the child before placement so you can get to know each other and confirm that this is a good match.

Most families in our fos-adopt program receive placement of a child within four to eight months of completing the home study. To get started on your search today, fill out our online contact form whenever you’re ready.

2. Find Birth Mothers Looking for Adoptive Parents

Another way to adopt a child in California is private infant adoption with a birth mother who is making an adoption plan.

Infant adoption, also called domestic adoption, can be an amazing way to start or grow your family. For this process, you will need to work with a fully licensed adoption agency. With the support of an agency, you can:

• Find an adoption opportunity
• Receive constant counseling and support
• Get to know the birth parents through open adoption
• Experience confidence, security and peace

There's nothing more important than the future of your family. Because the adoption process can be so complex, the agency you choose holds that future in their hands.

By working with a fully licensed agency like FCCA, you'll have the best adoption experience. We have helped create more than 13,000 families, and we would love to help create yours, too.

3. Adopt Internationally

For this type of adoption, you have two options when searching for an adoption opportunity: FCCA’s Hong Kong program or adoption through another country.

Hong Kong Adoption

FCCA offers a direct child-placement program in Hong Kong through our partnership with Mother’s Choice, an orphanage in Hong Kong. Most children in our Hong Kong Program are between 2 and 8 years old and have disabilities.

Other International Adoption Options

If you want to adopt a child from another country, then FCCA can still provide you with a home study and post-placement services. Keep in mind that different agencies have different requirements for adoptive families. If you need help finding an international adoption program, then FCCA can refer you to several reputable international child-placing agencies for placement services.

Regardless of the child-placing agency you work with, FCCA can provide the international adoption home study, post-placement and finalization services you need to complete the adoption process. 

Find an Agency

To learn more about your adoption options and FCCA’s child-placing programs, contact the FCCA office and get free adoption information now.