Get started by registering for the next Adoption Orientation at Eckerd Connects. Contact Jenny Kassay @ Jenny@HeartGalleryTampa.org for more information. At Orientation you’ll learn about foster care, adoption, requirements for prospective parents, and about the children waiting for a place to call home.
Following Adoption Orientation, sign up for the next Professional Parenting class. This 8 week training will give you a better understanding of grief, loss, trauma, and parenting children in foster care.
Next you will be assigned an Adoption Family Recruiter who will conduct your home study. This will include background checks, references, and an in depth assessment of your family and home to ensure you are prepared and ready to adopt.
Learn about children that are available for adoption by visiting our Available Kids page, attend Adoption Recruitment Events to meet the children, and work with your Adoption Family Recruiter to best match your strengths to the needs of a child or sibling group. Once matched, initial visitation will begin. When everyone is comfortable, the child will move into your home and must live with you for a minimum of 90 days prior to finalizing with the courts.
Finalization! Your child will legally become a part of your family when you finalize in a court of law, complete with new birth certificates listing you as the parent. Adoption finalization is a legal process that marks the beginning of a lifetime commitment.
Expenses are minimal when adopting from the foster care system. The lead agency covers costs associated with pre-service training, home study, background checks, and attorney fees.
Prospective parents must complete Adoption Orientation, a Professional Parenting course, have an approved home study complete with background screenings, required paperwork and documentation. Most importantly, you must be willing to make a lifelong commitment to a child in need.
You must be at least 21 years old to adopt, financially stable and able to provide for basic needs of yourself and your family, and must have an approved adoption home study. Age, race, gender, and sexual orientation are not factors that would prohibit you from adopting from the foster care system.
Children available for adoption are those whose parents’ rights have been terminated and are without a Forever Family. Most available children are at least 9 years old, part of a sibling group, and/or have special medical or therapeutic needs. All children in foster care have experienced some form of abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect and will need help recovering and processing the trauma they have experienced.
This can vary greatly depending on each circumstance. However, as a general rule it usually takes about 9 -12 months from the time a family first calls an adoption agency to the time when a child is placed with the family.
Yes! Your approved home study is applicable for any child welfare agency. Each circumstance will be assessed to determine if it is appropriate for a child to move out of state. Keep in mind these adoptions can take a little longer depending on the case.
