Concurrent Planning and Matching

What is Concurrent Planning and Matching?

The term "Foster/Adopt" may be confusing to some as it implies a lack of placement permanency. Although children identified for adoption through the states foster to adoption system are technically considered foster children, the real determining factor in placement permanency is the child's status in the Court Process.

Concurrent Planning:
When children enter the foster care system, they may be in what is called a Concurrent Plan. This means that the court is looking at both the possibility of reunification with the birth parent or a relative and a permanent adoptive placement. As part of the Concurrent Plan, there is a 6 to 18 month (6 - 12 is most common) time period in which biological parents are offered court ordered services. If these services, which may include drug/alcohol treatment, are followed through and completed, the birth parents have a good chance of reunification with their children. Although you might be a foster/adopt parent seeking adoption, please keep in mind that the central goal of Concurrent Planning is reunification with the birth parents and Adoption is the secondary plan. Families interested must be willing to help facilitate these reunification efforts. This will include transportation for birth parents' visitation. Families must be willing to accept the risk inherent in concurrent planning, be prepared to experience loss, while also preparing for possible adoption. Generally, concurrent planning is appropriate for those seeking to adopt young children under the age of 3.

If you were to adopt a child during the Concurrent Plan phase, the risk of the child being reunified with the biological parent is higher. However, if there are no relatives, the relatives do not qualify, or the parents do not follow through with their court ordered services or reunification services are terminated for other reasons, the child will often continue on to adoption.

Matching:
Matching is also part of the Foster/Adopt process, however it is a term we use when children are further along in the court process, parental rights may or may not have been terminated. Matching generally applies to older children (3 and up), sibling sets, and/or children with special needs. These adoptions are inherently lower risk because the children are further along in the court process and are less likely to reunify or are "legally freed" for adoption .

How to Choose:
It is important to note that Concurrent Planning and Matching are not mutually exclusive. You may wish to match with an older child (over 3) AND be a concurrent plan family seeking to adopt a toddler or infant. Choosing Concurrent Planning or Matching is a highly personal decision. Adopting children from the foster care system is a complex topic and there is no 100% risk-free adoption, be it international or domestic. For this reason we encourage you to Contact Us so one of our experienced professionals may answer your questions in greater depth and more fully explain the process in one of our 1 on 1 personal interviews.

Our Role in Adoptive Placements:

Our Role in the Matching Process:
Our role in the adoption process is that of the adoptive family advocate, we are in essence the "family workers". As a private agency unter State regulations, we train, complete a Home Study and certify prospective adoptive families according to State law, and guide them through the adoption process up to and including the finalization.

The County Adoption Workers are considered the "child workers". They are actively seeking out adoptive families for adoptive children under their care. This is where we advocate for you, the adoptive family, and actively work with them as a team to achieve the best match for the adoptive child and family. The County Adoption Workers make all final placement decisions based on their perceived suitability of a match.

Matching:
The Matching process is very interactive and we will be in frequent contact with you to discuss potential matches. During the matching process, your Home Study and family picture book will be presented to County Adoption Workers throughout California. Our Adoption Workers regularly attend exchange meetings where County Adoption workers from many counties gather to review the Home Studies and picture books of waiting adoptive families. In addition, we are in nearly constant contact with local and regional County Adoption workers who are looking for possible matches for adoptive children.

There are a variety of factors that determine a County Adoption Workers decision to place an adoptive child with a particular adoptive family. We will be happy to explore this in more depth with you in the individual orientation.

Waiting for a child can be a roller coaster for adoptive families. The court processes involved take time but ultimately lead to legally sound finalizations. After finalization, biological relatives have no legal recourse to the adoptive children. In fact, your newly adopted child will receive a new birth certificate and Social Security number to ensure their security and confidentiality.

Placement:

When a potential match has been identified, one of our Adoption Workers will accompany you to a Disclosure meeting with the County Adoption Worker. By law, the legal custodian of the child (the County) must disclose information about the child to families pursuing adoption. At the time of the adoption placement signing, the adoptive family will receive hardcopies of information that had been previously disclosed, as well as any additional information that has been obtained.

During a Disclosure meeting the County Adoption Worker for the adoptive child will meet with the family in order to provide information regarding the following:

Reasons why the child was removed and current assesment.
Medical history of the adoptive child.
Any behavioral problems or other concerns.
Parental history of the biological father and mother.
Other information that has been provided regarding the child and/or biological family.

This is also an opportunity for the County Adoption Worker to meet with you face to face and discuss aspects of your Home Study. As part of the Home Study process, we will prepare you for what questions to expect during this meeting.

After disclosure, if the decision is made to move forward, a pre-placement visit will generally be arranged. This visit may take place in the adoptive child's current foster home or a neutral setting such as a park or restaurant. Depending on the age of the child, these visits may progress to overnight visits at your home, or an immediate placement.

Post-Placement:

For 6 months after the initial placement, the identified adoptive child is technically still considered a foster child regardless of their court status, even if they are legally freed for adoption. During this time we render our extensive post placement support services, including:

Weekly or Bi-weekly visits to your home.
24 Hour on-call availability.
Individual child assesment.
Family counseling.
Development of community resources.
Educational planning and development.
Counseling planning.
Parenting skills.

During this time you will also receive a monthly reimbursement at standard foster care rates to help offset expenditures. After finalization, this rate will change to the Adoption Assistance Program rate.

Finalization: