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Foster to Adopt

The UPFS Adoption Program provides adoptive placement through the:

  • State of Michigan Foster Care System
  • Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE)

"Adoption isn’t just a childhood experience, it’s a life-long experience."
    ~ DaShanne Stokes

What is Adoption?

Adoption is a lifelong commitment by an individual or family to provide stability and a loving home to a child in need of a permanent family. Children who are adopted range in age from infants and toddlers to older children and teens, and like all other children, they have varied personalities, interests and needs. An adoptive family commits to providing a secure and nurturing home environment where a child’s emotional, physical, educational and social needs are met. An adoptive family should be dedicated to meeting these needs and encouraging their adopted child to meet their full potential, just as they would their own biological child.

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When are children available for adoption?

Children adopted through the UPFS Adoption Program are foster children whose birth parents were unable to reduce the barriers that led to the children’s removal. When barriers are not reduced and reunification within the specified time frames of the Department of Human Services Foster Care Policy cannot be attained, the Court is able to terminate parental rights. When parental rights are terminated, the goal of UPFS is to find the best adoptive home placement for the child and achieve permanency as quickly as possible for that child. Often that means adoption by a foster parent or relative who has been providing foster care to the child, but it can also mean adoption by another identified family member or a family unrelated to the child.

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How much does it cost to adopt a child?

Adopting a child through the foster care system incurs minimal costs to a foster/adoptive parent. Foster families who choose to adopt a foster child are only responsible for court filing fees and the cost of obtaining new birth certificate, which is often times a reimbursable expense. UPFS completes the foster family home study and other required adoption paperwork without charge to the foster family. Additionally, when adopting children through the Michigan foster care system, a monthly adoption subsidy may be available for a child depending on the child’s age and physical or emotional needs. Medical subsidies may also be available to adoptive families if the child is determined to have ongoing medical or emotional issues.