Vermont Foster Care and Adoption Guidelines

Many children in Vermont - from infants to teens - currently live away from their families in foster care. These children and their families need caring people like you to help them through a difficult time. There are many ways you can help, with one option being adoption.

Contact Information

• Vermont Family Service Division
  Contact: Toni Yandow
  Phone (Teléfono): 802-864-7467, Ext. 2006
  Email (Correo Electrónico): toniy@lundvt.org

Things You Should Know

• Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements
• Costs to Foster and Adopt
• Parent Support Groups
• Agency Contact and Orientation Information
• Information on Vermont's Waiting Children

Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements

To become a licensed foster parent in the state of Vermont, you must be at least 21 years old, live in Vermont, and have sufficient income to support your family. For more information, please visit the Project Family website. Or you can visit the Vermont Department for Children and Families website.

If you are interested in adopting a child in Vermont State custody, you can visit the Project Family or Vermont Department for Children and Families websites.

Costs to Foster and Adopt

There may be nominal costs associated with becoming a foster parent, though most will be reimbursed. This is also the case if you adopt a child in Vermont State custody through the state of Vermont.

If you work with a private agency, they may charge fees. Any questions about private agency fees should be answered by that agency.

If you adopt a child who is waiting in foster care in another state, there may be costs. However, when families adopt children who are in foster care and eligible for subsidy, the families may be eligible for reimbursement of some adoption-related costs, such as attorney’s fees and court fees, through the child’s state andr federal options. Many families use low-cost adoption options every year.

Parent Support Groups

Casey Family Services maintains a library for circulating books, tapes, monographs, and articles. You can either stop in to browse their library at their office in White River Junction or Winooski or you can call either office to ask that a title be mailed to you.

• White Rive Junction
  Phone: 800-607-1400 or 802-649-1400
• Winooski
  Phone: 800-244-1408 or 802-655-6688.

The Vermont Adoption Consortium also has a lending library of books, articles, audiotapes, and videotapes for families. This library is housed at East Seals Vermont in Berlin. To borrow from this library, call 802-223-4744.

2009 Sustainable Respite Mini-Grant Award

AdoptUsKids in partnership with NACAC (North American Council on Adoptable Children) has awarded one of the 20 mini-grants to the Vermont Kin As Parents (VKAP) who will partner with the Vermont Department of Children and Families to improve the availability of and excellence in respite care.

Strong respite care programs require community involvement and partnerships. Such programs are the most effective way to assure that respite care will be available to families for years to come.

• Contact: Lynn Granger
  Address: 46 Main St., Winooski, VT 05404
  Phone: 802-388-4725
  Email: kinlmg@comcast.net

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

Orientation

The Vermont Adoption Consortium, the Vermont Department for Children and Families, and the Vermont Foster/Adoptive Family Association regularly sponsor workshops for adoptive parents, pre-adoptive parents, foster parents, and professionals.

Agencies:

Information on Children

There are 1,436 children in foster care in Vermont; 265 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.