Pennsylvania Foster Care and Adoption Guidelines

Every year, thousands of children enter the foster care system in need of safety, security, nurturing, love, all of the things you get from good parenting. Many of our children are able to return to their birth family, but many are not and are in need of a family willing to make a permanent commitment. We encourage families to consider becoming a resource family. A resource family is there for a child when they come into the foster care system and is willing to adopt that child if the goal of reunification is changed to adoption. We want to prevent a child from being moved multiple times.

If you don’t think being a foster parent is the right thing for you, we also have children already waiting for someone to step forward and make a commitment to provide them with a permanent home. They need someone to adopt them.

We realize this is a big step for you, and we understand you need to have a lot of questions answered and, for many of you, a lot of time to think about whether or not you want to take the next step. We are here to be a support, but not to pressure you in any way.

We are looking forward to hearing from you so we can tell you about how wonderful our children are, about their needs, and what you need to do next to start your journey to become a foster and/or an adoptive parent.

Contact Information

StateWide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN)

• Email (Correo Electrónico): pahelpline@diakon-swan.org
• Toll-Free Phone (Teléfono): 800-585-SWAN (7926)
   

Things You Should Know

• Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements
• Foster Care and Adoption Costs
• Parent Support Groups
• Agency Contact and Orientation Information
• Information on Pennsylvania's Waiting Children
• Upcoming Events

Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements

Families interested in adopting or fostering must be at least 21 years old and must go through this process:

• You will have to attend training. In Pennsylvania, we believe that it is best to complete 24 hours of “parent preparation” but the actual number of hours will vary depending on the agency that you choose to work with (because the state does not actually require the full 24 hours). The purpose of the training is to help you understand how the child’s past experiences can affect them, to talk about issues such as grief and loss, to provide you with parenting techniques, to tell you about resources available to help you, and more.
• Prospective foster and adoptive parents, plus all individuals older than 18 years old who reside in your home, will need the several different types of background checks: State criminal background check and childline registry clearance; a federal criminal history record check completed by submitting a one-time full set of fingerprints; and certification from statewide registry of child abuse in any state in which he or she has resided during the past five years.
• Current physical that includes a tuberculosis test
• References from non-family members
• Safety check of your home
• Work with a social worker in the agency that you choose so that he or she can complete a written document about your family’s strengths. This document is referred to as a "family profile" in adoption and a "homestudy in foster care."

Our adoption process is strength-based, which means that we help you to identify your strengths and match them up with the needs of a child who is waiting.

We are not concerned about:

• Your marital status
• Your income
• Whether you own or rent
• Whether you live in a house, an apartment, or a trailer

Foster Care and Adoption Costs

All foster parent training is free and the adoption of any child that you have already been fostering in your home is free.

Any State resident who is adopting a child currently waiting in the foster care system – even if they are doing so without being a foster parent first - will have their agency fees paid by the state up front if:

• They are adopting a child who is age 10 or older
• They are adopting a sibling group
• They are adopting a child with at least moderate challenges

When adopting, without fostering, all other children in the State foster care system or when adopting a child who is waiting in foster care in another state, Pennsylvania families may have to pay for some of the agency fees (i.e., training and family profile) up front. You may be reimbursed after a child is placed in your home. This is up to the policies of the child’s agency and the policies of the agency that you choose to work with.

Parent Support Groups

Information on support groups and other resources located throughout the State can be obtained by contacting Together As Parents Inc. at taplink@comcast.net, or by calling 215-256-0669.

Books on a variety of topics concerning adoption and foster care have been placed in Pennsylvania’s library system. If your local branch does not have what you are looking for, they are able to get it through the inter-library loan system.

In addition, Three Rivers Adoption Council (TRAC) has an extensive adoption and foster care library that includes books, tapes, and articles that are available to the public. If you are not able to get to the library (307 Fourth Ave. 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh) TRAC will mail the materials to you free of charge. You will be expected pay for return postage at the end of three weeks. Magazine articles will be copies and do not have to be returned. For more information on TRAC’s library hours and what they have, call 412-471-8722.

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

Please contact Pennsylvania's Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) helpline by either calling 800-585-7926 (SWAN)  or emailing pahelpline@diakon-swan.org.  You will be put in contact with an information and referral specialist trained and  experienced in talking with families interested in providing adoption, foster care, and other resource family services to children with a placement. The specialist can alos answer questions about Pennsylvania’s network of agencies licensed in foster care  and adoption.

Information on Pennsylvania's Waiting Children

Our children all have experienced things that children should never experience. They have learned that you can’t trust adults to keep you safe, and they need someone to help them heal.

Many Pennsylvania children need resource families (foster families who are open to the possibility of adopting if the children cannot be reunited with their birth families). These children are all ages.

For many other children, their case workers have already determined that they cannot return to their birth families. They need adoptive families. These are older children - most of them are age 8 and older – and many of them have siblings that want to stay together.

Upcoming Events

Information about upcoming events can be found on the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network’s (SWAN) website.