Indiana foster care and adoption guidelines
In Indiana, there are different types of adoptions and different avenues to adopting a child. Private adoption attorneys and agencies typically handle infant and international adoptions.
The Indiana Adoption Program is a statewide initiative through the Indiana Department of Child Services to find adoptive homes for Indiana’s children and older youth in foster care.
In Indiana, most of the children for whom we are seeking families are between the ages of 8 and 16. Although children much younger come into our care, they are usually reunified with their family, adopted by another family member, or adopted by their foster parents. Many children in care also have brothers and/or sisters. There is an urgent need for families willing to adopt older youth and siblings.
Please explore the Indiana Adoption Program website to learn more about adopting from foster care and the children who are waiting for a home to call their own.
On this page:
- State contact information
- Foster and adoption licensing requirements
- Foster and adoption costs
- Agency contact and orientation information
- Post-adoption support services
- Information on Indiana's children
- Additional resources
State contact information
Indiana has 92 counties and each county has different resources available. To learn more about the preparation process, please contact iap@fireflyIN.org or call 855-677-5437.
Foster and adoption licensing requirements
Foster parent requirements:
- Complete licensing packet issued by your county of residence or the agency with whom you are working
- Complete at least 10 hours of training
- Do criminal background checks and CPS checks as required by the state of Indiana
- Complete homestudy process with the county or agency that is working with you
Adoptive parent requirements:
- Complete application and licensing packet issued by the county or agency with whom you are working. To adopt from Indiana Adoption Program, families must be licensed, either as foster families or as adoption-only families
- Complete at least 16 hours of training, do criminal background checks and CPS checks as required by the state of Indiana
- Complete homestudy process with the county or agency that is working with you
Foster and adoption costs
In some cases, you may be required to pay for your criminal background checks and CPR/First Aid classes if you choose to do them on your own, outside of the training process.
In some counties, you may be required to pay for your home study at first and will later be reimbursed for it. Please contact iap@fireflyIN.org for more information.
Agency contact and orientation information
Indiana has 92 counties and each county has different resources available. To learn more about the preparation process, please contact iap@fireflyIN.org or call 855-677-5437.
Post-adoption support services
See a comprehensive list of post-adoption and guardianship support services and support groups available to families who live in Indiana.
Information on Indiana's children
There are approximately 13,000 children in foster care in Indiana, and many of them are waiting for adoptive families. You can learn about some of the waiting children in Indiana on IndianaAdoptionProgram.org.
Additional resources
Find a list of adoption awareness events in your community at the Indiana Adoption Program's website.