Becoming a foster carer for a child under the age of 18

You will receive information from the adoption agency about the child and their birth family.

If you wish to get to know the child, the agency will organise a meeting. In the case of older children, several meetings will take place.

You have the primary obligation to provide for the child you are to adopt. This applies as soon as the parental consents have been received by the family court and the child is living in your household with a view to adoption. From this point onwards, you are no longer entitled to foster care allowance.

Even during the pre-adoption care period, you can claim various social, tax and employment-related benefits and allowances for yourself and the child.

You can

• include the child in your statutory health insurance cover under the family insurance scheme free of charge,
• apply for child benefit, parental allowance and parental leave,
• claim benefits under employment, pension and tax law for yourself.

During this period, you can seek advice and support from the adoption agency on all matters concerning the child. The child’s legal representation is usually handled by the Youth Welfare Office.

During the adoption placement period, you can submit an application for adoption to the family court. This can be done either before or after the family court has received the parents’ notarised declarations of consent. This application for adoption must also be notarised. From the age of 14, the child must give their own consent to the adoption.

Please note: Even if you submit the adoption application at an early stage, this does not shorten the duration of the foster care period.