Adoption FAQ

Yes! Many children thrive in single-parent homes, and sometimes workers look for a single parent when it’s the best fit for a child. If you are not married but living with a partner, only one of you can legally adopt.

Yes! You need a legal, taxable source of income and enough financial stability to provide for yourself, your family (if you have one), and the child joining your household. Families who receive assistance may still qualify. Funding options and subsidies may also be available to help with the costs of raising the child. (Additional details are included later in this FAQ.)

Yes! Renting is acceptable as long as the lease or agreement is in your name and there is adequate bedroom space for each child, as required by state policy. The home must also meet state safety standards and be free of health and fire hazards.

You must be at least 18 years old to adopt or foster in Michigan. There are no upper age limits for adoption, but the general state guideline is that there should be no more than a 50-year difference between the youngest parent and child. However, this requirement can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Yes! Michigan offers three adoption subsidy programs for eligible children from foster care who are adopted:

• Adoption Support Subsidy: This subsidy is a monthly support to help with the costs of raising a child until age 18. The application, eligibility determination, and signing of the contract must happen before the Petition for Adoption is submitted. The Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Office (AGAO) must approve adoption assistance before an adoption is finalized; it cannot be added after finalization.
• Adoption Medical Subsidy: This program may cover specific physical, mental, or emotional health expenses, up to age 18, when the cause of the condition existed before adoption, even if the diagnosis or treatment occurs later. For example, counseling often qualifies because trauma happened before adoption. However, if a child breaks a bone playing sports after adoption, those medical costs would not be covered because the cause occurred afterward. The adoption worker typically applies for medical subsidy before adoption, and families can request additions for new needs and diagnoses afterward. Medical subsidy may also cover items parents might not expect, such as camp, tutoring, orthodontics, and respite care. It is essential to follow AGAO procedures to ensure eligibility and approval before completing services.
• Nonrecurring Adoption Expenses: This request can be used for up to $2,000 reimbursement for specific adoption expenses (e.g., birth certificate, court costs, Adoptive Family Assessment, travel).

Children adopted from foster care typically continue to use Medicaid, and adoptive families may qualify for a federal tax credit.

Financial assistance is also available for youth in foster care and guardianship.

Talk with your worker for more information about all these programs.

Yes! MARE’s adoption agency list also identifies affirming agencies in our state. Contact an Adoption Navigator if you'd like help connecting with an agency.

Yes! Be prepared to visit the child in Michigan for at least an initial meeting and visit, and perhaps for an extended stay. An Adoption Navigator can guide you through the process. Our Families Outside Michigan page has more information as well.

Foster care differs from adoption in a few key ways:

• The primary goal of foster care is to reunify a child with their birth parent/s. Foster parents provide temporary care for the child, and the State of Michigan is the child's legal guardian. Adoption is permanent. It transfers the child's care and legal responsibility to the adoptive parent/s.
• While the child is in care, foster parents help in reunification efforts, transport the child to visits with birth parents/siblings, take the child to counseling and appointments, and have meetings and home visits with a foster care worker.
• If reunification isn't possible, a judge terminates parental rights and the child becomes available for adoption. An adoptive parent or parents can then make a lifelong commitment to the child by becoming their legal parent, just as they would be for a biological child.
• An agency grants adoption approval for children from foster care, and a court finalizes the adoption. The State of Michigan approves a foster care license for families.  

Call the Foster Care Navigators at 1-855-642-4543. They are experienced foster parents who can answer questions, provide information, and connect you with a local agency. You can also visit their website, the Michigan Foster Care Portal, and MDHHS's foster care webpage for more details.

A homestudy is a written report about you (and your family, if you have one) that a child-placing agency completes. It allows the worker to get to know you and gather important information about your family history, home, health, finances, and other relevant factors. It also allows you to think through your hopes, motivations, and expectations for adoption.

The process includes talking with your worker, completing fingerprinting and background checks, getting a physical exam from your doctor, providing three personal references, and having at least one in-home visit with the worker. While it may seem detailed and even a little overwhelming, the homestudy is meant to make sure adoption is a good fit for you. It also helps workers determine the types of children you'd be best matched with, including their age ranges, needs, and functioning levels.

Timelines vary. On average, it takes 6-12 months for the approval process, including completing orientation, your application, required training, and the homestudy.

You'll begin the process of being matched with a child! You can also make online inquiries about children listed on MARE. When you inquire about a child, your adoption worker will share your homestudy with the child's worker and answer any questions they may have. The child’s worker typically reviews multiple families' homestudies simultaneously to identify one that best meets the child’s needs. (To learn more, see our page on the Inquiry Process.)

If you're selected as a match, the child's worker provides your worker with the Child Adoptive Assessment (CAA). This report includes details on the child's history, time in care, number of placements, and any diagnoses. There will be an information-sharing meeting, and you'll decide whether to proceed with adoption.  

Please note: MARE does not decide matches or provide inquiry updates. Our website allows workers serving children and families to connect and share information. Your adoption worker updates you on the status of your inquiries.

There is no set timeframe for the transition process. Initially, visits typically occur in the community or at the child’s residential facility. The next step often involves visits to your home. These visits may last for an afternoon, overnight, a weekend, or sometimes for more extended periods.

The child’s workers determine the pace of visits and the move-in schedule based on what is best for the child. The adoption team will work with you to set a plan that balances the child’s needs and your family’s readiness. If you are already a licensed foster parent, the child may be able to visit and move in sooner.

Once the child has transitioned into your home, they typically remain there for at least six months, sometimes longer, before the adoption is finalized.

Licensing is not required to adopt, but many agencies recommend it. Being licensed shows that your home meets licensing standards, may increase worker confidence in your knowledge and abilities, and can provide more flexibility during a pre-adoptive child’s transition into your home. Licensing also allows you to receive assistance payments after placement. While the primary goal of foster care is reunification, many children who become eligible for adoption are adopted by their foster parents as well.

It refers to children who qualify for federal Title IV-E Adoption Assistance payments after the adoption is finalized. It should not be confused with children who have disabilities or who receive special education services, though some Title IV-E eligible children may have those needs as well.

To be considered a special needs adoption, the child must meet at least 1 of the following criteria:

• Being eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based solely on medical or disability requirements
• Having a physical, emotional, or cognitive functioning level that results in an MDHHS Determination of Care (DOC) Level II or above, a Medically Fragile DOC Level II or above, or a Severe Emotional Disturbance Waiver (SEDW) rate
• Being age three or over
• Being adopted by a relative
• Being adopted by the parent/s a previously adopted sibling
• Being a member of a sibling group that is being adopted together with at least one sibling who meets the above criteria
• Having a Guardianship Assistance Agreement through MDHHS at the time the Adoption Assistance application is submitted

Imagine being a teenager trying to navigate adolescence, step into adulthood, and face independence all without family by your side. That’s the reality for nearly 20,000 teens who age out of foster care each year in the United States. These young people need support, guidance, and family not just now, but for the rest of their lives. There are countless joys and milestones you can share with a teen through adoption: their first date, getting a driver’s license, prom, graduation, and so much more. Most importantly, you can provide them with a forever home to return to, whether it’s for holidays, a load of laundry, a little TLC, or simply the comfort of knowing you’ll always be there. 

Looking for more reasons to adopt teens? Get inspired with these videos and articles, and then view our waiting teens!

Videos:

• Parents Adopted from AdoptUSKids
• The Rewards of Adopting Teens from AdoptUSKids
• Why You Should Adopt Teenagers (As Told by Teenagers) from MARE (an oldie but goodie!)

Articles:

• Teens Need Families by AdoptUSKids
• 10 Favorite "Firsts" From Families Who Adopted Teens by AdoptUSKids
• 13 Reasons to Adopt Teens by AdoptUSKids

In Michigan, most children in foster care who are unable to be reunified with their birth families are adopted by their foster parents or relatives, and a large percentage of those children are under 5 years old.  Many are also part of a sibling group with older children and need to be placed together. Therefore, many of the children who do not yet have an identified adoptive family are older.  

There are far more older children available to adopt from child welfare than infants. If an infant is unable to be reunified with their birth parents, they are most often placed with a relative or foster family who will likely be offered the opportunity to adopt them. Infants are not photolisted on MARE.

Children in the foster care system have already experienced a great deal of grief and loss. They have been removed from their parents, their friends, their extended family, and their homes. Often, they have also lost their friends, pets, school, neighborhood, toys, and clothes. In many cases, the only connection they still have is to their brothers and sisters. 

Those sibling relationships can include more than biological sisters and brothers, too. It might be half-siblings, step-siblings, adopted siblings, and foster siblings if they have a close bond. 

Michigan’s policy is to act in the best interests of the children, which includes placing siblings together unless there is an important reason to separate them. If siblings cannot be placed together, sibling contact will still be encouraged if appropriate. 

Find out more about siblings below:

• 10 Facts about Adopting Siblings Together video from AdoptUSKids
• Keeping Siblings Together article from AdoptUSKids

When the parental rights for a child are terminated, the child becomes a permanent ward of the State of Michigan and becomes available for adoption. The child’s adoption worker then has 60 days to find a forever family for the child, which may include a relative, a foster parent who wants to adopt them, or a pre-adoptive family working with the agency or that is recruited for the child. If the worker can't find a family, they are required to develop a recruitment plan for the child and photolist them on MARE’s website.