About 12,000 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. You do not have to be married or rich to help; all kinds of people are needed.

Contact Information

Lund Family Center & Department for Children & Families

Toni T. Yandow

(802) 864-7467 or (802) 241-2780

Toll free: 1-800-639-1741 or 1-800-746-7000

toniy@lundfamilycenter.org or Toni.Yandow@ahs.state.vt.us

Para información en español, contacte:

Toni T. Yandow

toniy@lundfamilycenter.org o Toni.Yandow@ahs.state.vt.us

Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption

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.

Also view the Vermont Adoption Handbook for more information.

Does it Cost to Foster or 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 and/or 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. The contact information is: White Rive Junction at 1-800-607-1400 or (802) 649-1400 and Winooski at 1-800-244-1408 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.

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/or professionals. You can become informed about what is forthcoming by visiting one of the following websites: Vermont Department for Children and Families training calendar and the Project Family events calendar. You can also call 1-800-607-1400.

Agencies:

Excellent information about the above agencies, and a complete list of agencies, can be found on pages 47-50 of the Vermont Adoption Handbook.

Information on Children

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

Upcoming Events

To view a list of upcoming events please visit the Vermont Department for Children and Families calendar or the Project Family events calendar. You can also call us for more information.