Legal Risk Placements (Foster To Adopt)

What is a legal risk placement?

A legal-risk placement -- more commonly known as foster to adopt -- is a foster family placement for a child or youth who has been removed from their birth family and is in the custody of a county's children and youth services agency. The children are often removed due to abuse or neglect and the intent is to reunite them with their birth families. However, sometimes those reunions do not or cannot occur.

In such cases, the foster family will seek to adopt a child who has lived in their home when that child becomes legally free for adoption. In other cases, a resource family is sought -- one who is willing to serve as the foster family with the immediate intent of becoming the permanent adoptive family when birth parents’ parental rights are terminated.

Although legal risk adoptions are a step toward permanency for a child or youth, the foster family does face the risk that the child may not be able to be legally adopted, depending on the status of birth parents’ rights. Such placements are considered "risky" because the child's birth parents still have legal rights and there is a possibility that the child may be reunited with them.

Why are legal risk adoptions important?

Legal risk adoptions provide stability and permanency for children who may not have a clear path to adoption. By being placed with families who are willing to adopt, these children can form relationships and attachments while waiting for their legal status to be resolved. This can greatly benefit their emotional and psychological well-being, as well as their overall development.

Additionally, a legal risk placement can shorten the amount of time a child spends in the child welfare system. Instead of placing a child in foster care and then searching for an adoptive family separately, this process combines both steps.

How does Diakon support families who choose the foster to adopt path?

Diakon Adoption & Foster Care provides extensive training, support, and resources to families who are interested in the foster to adopt process. We understand that these placements come with unique challenges and we are committed to helping families navigate through them successfully. Besides offering ongoing support and guidance, our team connects families with other resources and support groups in their community.

Diakon also offers post-adoption services to help legal risk placements become permanent adoptions. These services include counseling, therapeutic interventions, and educational resources for both the child and adoptive family.

Through foster to adopt placement, we can give abused or neglected children a chance at a stable and permanent family while also supporting the birth parents' journey towards reunification. Our mission is to empower individuals and strengthen communities through our commitment to service, hospitality, and charitable care.

Let us join hands in creating a brighter future for vulnerable children and their families together.

Contact us to learn more

Resource parents willing to face the possible uncertainties of this type of placement are always in demand—and the rewards of providing a stable and loving home for children in need can be significant!