The Process Of Foster Parent Adoption In Pennsylvania

There are many cases in which foster parents, after forming such a tremendous bond with a child, decide to make the relationship official via a Pennsylvania adoption. In situations such as these everyone involved in child services is absolutely thrilled. There is nothing better than success stories such as these. In today’s blog, your Western Pennsylvania Adoption lawyers discuss the process of adoption by a foster parent.

Despite wanting to adopt the child and already having a relationship with the child, the foster parent needs to complete the entire adoption process. In order for a foster parent to adopt a foster child, they must show that they are standing in loco parentis. In Pennsylvania, standing “in loco parentis” means an individual who is not the biological parent of a child, is standing in place of a parent and acting as a parent.

Foster parents must also work to terminate the rights of the biological parents. This is important because every foster case varies and it is the primary goal of the system to keep families intact when they can. However, there are cases where the child’s parents are not in the picture whatsoever (due to abandonment, imprisonment, death, etc.) and in these cases, foster parents will have a much smoother adoption process.

If the parental rights have not been terminated, the biological parents will have the law on their side. If a child is in foster care, this means the biological parents almost definitely have not given their consent to this. More likely, the child or children were taken against their will for any of a variety of reasons. As the parents have not given their actual consent to their child or children living with foster parents, there is no consent to terminate parental rights in the face of a potential adoption.

If you are a foster parent in Pennsylvania who wishes to adopt your foster child, please contact one of our experienced Adoption Attorneys today. Our team of Pittsburgh adoption lawyers will work with you to provide you with the legal guidance you need and work to ensure that the adoption process is as easy and stress free as possible. For more information, contact us today!