Adopt your foster child with Texas CAN!
Thanks to Texas CAN!, you may be able to adopt the child in your care even if the agency with which you work only offers foster care.

Established in 1998, the Texas CAN! (Collaborative Adoption Network) brought public and private child welfare agencies together to help parents adopt the children they are fostering.

If you would like to adopt your foster child, and your agency already has a relationship with Spaulding for Children (see Partnering Agencies), contact your caseworker and the CPS worker and let them know you are interested.

Your agency caseworker will contact the manager of the Texas CAN! Program at Spaulding for Children. You, your caseworker and the Spaulding for Children representative will meet to discuss the adoption process and begin the paperwork.

If your agency is not a partner in the Texas CAN! collaboration, your caseworker can find out how to join by contacting the Texas CAN! Program Manager at Spaulding for Children.

Parents pay no fee for adoption services. In fact, families who adopt
children who are in the custody of the state of Texas may be eligible for
certain services.

Families can apply for adoption subsidy for special needs children. Adoption subsidy can be as much as a Level 1 foster care payment and may include Medicaid coverage. Special needs children are eligible for subsidy until they reach 18. Subsidy is based on the children’s needs, not the adoption.

Children who were in the custody of the State of Texas at the time of the adoption are eligible for post adoption services. The services in your area may include support, respite, counseling, testing and residential services. Spaulding for Children is one of the contract agencies for post adoption services for Region 6 of Texas.

If you would like more information regarding the possibility of adopting your foster child or children, please contact your agency’s caseworker.