Family Connections, Inc.
With over thirty years of combined adoption experience, our New York adoption agency is prepared to provide you with the information that will help you choose your adoption path. Adoption information can often be confusing, overwhelming, and outdated; let us help you sort it out.
Family Connections, Inc., is a not-for-profit, New York State-authorized private adoption agency that has been caring for families through domestic and international adoption since 1994. We are dedicated to supporting birth parents, adoptive parents, and children touched by adoption throughout the life-long journey of adoption. Authorized by the New York Office of Children & Family Services and Hague Accredited by the Council on Accreditation
Services and information
- Adoption
Requirements to become a foster parent
Raising foster children is a rewarding and life-changing experience. You can make a real difference in a child's life, helping them on a path toward success.
Remember that fostering affects the whole family, so talk to your partner and biological children if you're considering this journey. Learn more about what to expect and ensure it fits your lifestyle. You must be healthy and have enough time and energy to care for a child and meet their needs. This is important for gaining foster parent approval because every child must have this foundation of support.
Each state has requirements for foster parents. In New York, applicants must:
- Be 21 years of age or older
- Live in a safe and stable environment
- Have enough space for a foster child
- Show financially stability
- Prove that all family members are in good health
- Pass a background check
- Clear a home safety inspection
- Attend required foster parent training
- Complete the Home Study process
- Provide a minimum of three character references
Foster families in New York can rent or own their homes. Adults can become foster parents no matter their marital or divorce status. All adults who are living in the home with foster children must pass the New York required criminal background check. Every adult must complete both state and federal background checks and undergo fingerprinting.
Interested candidates can make the first call to foster services and get the approval and licensing process started. Contact the New York Office of Children and Family Services (NYOCFS) or your local Department of Social Services (DSS). The first step after expressing interest will be to attend a foster orientation. Potential foster parents can learn about the approval process at the event and get questions answered by a foster child advocate.
The foster parent training requirement begins with pre-service training. After getting licensed, foster parents must participate in ongoing training and educational programs.
Ratings and Reviews
Average user rating
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May 19, 2023
We are an adoptive family and have had the absolute pleasure to work with Family Connections. Dan, Anita, and the entire team are amazing. They were professional and knowledgeable, went above and beyond, and supported us at every stage of the process. We worked with other agencies previously but after working with Family Connections, they’re the only team we would use again.
Jan 13, 2023
DO NOT TRUST DANIEL THESE PEOPLE LIE, WASTE YOUR TIME, Scared YOU AND IN THE END REFUSE TO WORK WITH YOU SAYING THEY WILL KEEP PORTION OF THE MONEY YOU HAVE PAID AND YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE ELSE IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED. They lie a lot. Unprofessional.
Dec 08, 2021
The process of adoption is so incredibly difficult in New York state. Pages and pages of forms for the criminal record inquiries and background check that include: Federal and State fingerprinting, addresses and their corresponding dates (from BIRTH) for the adoptive parents, self-authored biographies and personal histories, several sets of references, financial records, tax forms, work history, medical examinations, background checks for family members in the same household, etc. Needless to say, we felt overwhelmed. In addition, because we did not go through an agency for our baby (we know the birth mom very well), we were on our own to find the agency who would perform this background check. We literally called agencies who refused to help us because they could not supply a baby for us. When we had almost given up, we found Family Connections through a blog post offering (much appreciated) advice. They walked us through the process and even provided us with training on how to raise a child with possible separation trauma and also gave us essential advice on how to have a successful and loving open adoption (because open is the now the norm, as it is much healthier for the adopted child.) In short, I don't know how we could have done this without the help of Family Connections. They helped us so much and we would highly recommend them!
Sep 23, 2021
Liars
Jun 30, 2021
We stopped hearing from them and they stopped returning our calls, except for the constant reminders to pay them. We contacted them many times during over the past 18 months, with nothing but excuses as to why they were not available or unable to help. Costly mistake!