How to adopt youth on Northwest Adoption Exchange

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Decide to adopt from foster care.

The most important step in the adoption process is the very first: making the decision to grow your family by adopting through foster care. Like all important decisions, it’s best to do your homework first. If you’re just getting started, check out the AdoptUSKids website to get an overview on adopting from foster care.

If adoption is something you’ve been looking into for a while, it’s a great time to share your interest with friends and family. Telling your family you are adopting from foster care can be a mixed bag of emotions. Check out our article on how to share the news.

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Start the home study process.

If you’re ready to start the process, the next step is to complete a home study through a licensed agency in your state. While Northwest Adoption Exchange does not conduct home studies, we can connect you with agencies that do. When researching agencies, plan to interview a few different options. Be sure to ask about timelines, costs, and willingness to support out-of-state adoption. Finding an agency that fits your family is incredibly important.

For information on home studies, check out our article "What's a Home Study?" For a list of adoption agencies in the Pacific Northwest and links to national information, visit find an agency.

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Learn about youth on Northwest Adoption Exchange.

Every youth has a story that is worth honoring. As you move forward with adopting from foster care, start discovering the experiences, strengths, and dreams of youth who need adoptive families. Youth voices are important, so take the time to listen to what they have to say and what they’re looking for in a family. Check out youth’s In-Depth Profiles; they are a great place to start.

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Use Northwest Adoption Exchange to make connections.

We connect families that have a completed home study with caseworkers for youth who need adoptive families. As you view youth profiles, we hope you’re inspired to make an inquiry. If you meet the requirements specific to that youth, we can connect you with the youth’s caseworker so you can learn more about them and find out what kind of family they hope to meet. It very well could be yours.

Find out more about our process of making connections at Northwest Adoption Exchange.

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