Adoptions through the Department of Family and Children’s Services are available for the caregivers of dependent children/youth of the court in out-of-home care who are not able to reunify with their parents and need a permanent family. If you are interested in adoption, you must go through the process of becoming a Resource Family.
Each year approximately over 1,000 children/youth in Santa Clara County are placed in out of home care. Among those children/youth, many of them have experienced neglect, abuse or exploitation and are in need of a permanent family. The Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) works with resource families to be able to identify the most suitable families for these children/youth.
Like the diverse community in which we live, children/youth in foster care come from families of all different backgrounds. At DFCS, we pride ourselves in matching families with children/youth that support and understand each child’s needs. Our commitment is to support children/youth and to ease the trauma of their removal and provide a stable, loving environment with a resource family that can become the child/youth’s permanent family if the need arises.
The children/youth we need to find families for are predominantly of color, span all ages, and include sibling groups.
- Two or more children/youth (sibling groups)
- Boys ages seven through nine
- Infants and preschoolers with special needs
- Teenagers
- LGBTQIA+