Permanency Services Programs
Adoption From Foster Care
Considering adoption but aren’t sure where or how to begin? Adoption Rhode Island will help you through the process!
Although most are school-age children, generally between the ages of 5 and 18. These children deeply want a chance for love in a happy, permanent family setting. We invite married and single adults of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation to apply. Most importantly, we are looking for families that can make a life-long commitment to provide a safe, loving home to a child. There is no cost to adopt any of these children.
Explore Our Different Permanency Services Programs
Considering adoption or guardianship from foster care?
We are here to help guide you, support you and answer questions you have about the process.
Please contact us at 401-865-6000 x363 or scroll down to learn more about adoption.
Client Non-Discriminatory Policy
Adoption Rhode Island is firmly committed to equal opportunity and equity of access and does not permit and takes actions to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability/ability, marital status, and/or family status in provision of serving youth, children, pre-adoptive or adoptive families, or waiting families at the organization.
We welcome and encourage LGBTQ+ families interested in adoption! Adoption Rhode Island believes that all youth deserve to be loved, cared for, and given a sense of belonging and all families have the right to provide safe and loving homes for children seeking connections. “Family” comes in all forms, without exclusion.
Allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on any of these bases should be brought to the attention of agency administration immediately by reporting such conduct to the: (1) CEO/ED, (2) COO, (3) a member of management with whom the concerned staff feels comfortable, or (4) immediate supervisor.
Information Meetings
Do you have questions about adopting or becoming a guardian of a child who is in Rhode Island state care? Are you trying to decide whether it’s right for you? Or would you like to get the adoption process underway?
If the answer is yes – or even maybe, to any of these questions, we suggest that you come to one of our Information Meetings. These meetings are held once a month and feature presenters from Adoption Rhode Island and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, who will explain the steps of the adoption process and provide an overview of the children waiting to be adopted, and the rewards and challenges involved.
There will also be plenty of opportunities to ask questions. Applications to start the process are available at the meeting if you decide you are interested, or if you’d like to start the application process immediately, you can access the ‘Binti’ portal via the DCYF website at https://family.binti.com/users/signup/ri-rfa. Note that only Rhode Island families can utilize the Binti portal.
Families also learn about other routes they can take to become involved in the lives of waiting children.
To register for any of our Information Meetings, please contact Allison Forte at aforte@adoptionri.org. Click the image to the right for a printable flyer of our upcoming Info Meetings.
Adoption Rhode Island welcomes families living out of state to be registered with us and be considered for RI youth waiting to be matched with licensed adoptive families.
We can only accept a home study from a licensed child-placing agency adoption or licensing worker, who will need to send the following documents:
- A completed, up-to-date home-study with signatures of the family and agency representative
- Documentation that background checks have been completed and contain no disqualifying results (this can be indicated in the home-study)
- Copy of the child placing agency’s license to verify they are a licensed child placing agency
- Agency cover letter, email, or fax cover letter
- A completed Rhode Island Matching Form Found here
Once Adoption Rhode Island receives the above documents from the family’s agency, we will email the family a welcome letter. We enjoy meeting all registered families and look forward to getting to know them through virtual Meet & Greet meetings where families learn about the matching process and waiting youth.
If you are interested in adoption but have not begun the process yet, the first step is to locate an agency in your own state to get a home study. National organizations like AdoptUSKids.org may be able to help you locate an appropriate agency.
Heart Gallery
The Heart Gallery is a recruitment and awareness building initiative of Adoption Rhode Island. The Heart Gallery is a traveling exhibit of professional portraits of children waiting in foster care for adoption.
This initiative is only possible through the generous support of the community. Thank you to our Heart Gallery photographers – Allison Forte Photography, Gene Hutnak Photography, Joan Corey Photography , Oggi Photo/Julie Brigidi, Options Photography, Sabrina Scolari Photography and David Silverman Photography.
FAQ
No. Adoptions are guardianships by single people are on the increase, and some children actually do best with a single parent. Married and single adults from any race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation are welcomed as parents.
In Rhode Island you must be over 21 years of age.
We serve children and youth ages 0-17 and young adults 18-21 who deeply want a chance for love and a sense of belonging in a happy, permanent family setting. We invite married and single adults of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation to apply. Most importantly, we are looking for families who can make a life-long commitment to provide a safe, loving home to a child or young adult.
It is not often that infants are registered with Adoption Rhode Island.
No. The children you’ll meet in our Photo Gallery are children who are seeking adoption or other permanent connections. There are additional children seeking families who have some restrictions around recruitment and whose photos can not be displayed. If you would like more information regarding any of the children waiting for families, please contact our Permanency and Services team.
There is no fee to adopt or become a legal guardian of a child in state care through Adoption Rhode Island.
There are no income requirements for families.
No, you do not need to own a home. You will however, need to have at least two bedrooms in your home.
A home study is an official document, written by your home-study writer, about you, and your family that legally gives you approval for adoption. To be more precise, it’s a series of group and individual meetings between a home-study writer, prospective parents, and family members.
Once you have been accepted into a training group, the process takes three to five months to complete. The waiting period to be matched with a child varies depending on how flexible your expectations are regarding the demographic of a child you are willing to consider.
Most of the waiting children are living in foster homes, group homes, and residential treatment facilities.