Adoption & Foster Care Special Needs/SWAN Adoption Children who are available for adoption through the Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) are those children who have been in foster care through county Children and Youth agencies and are now ready to find a permanent home. These children may have emotional, behavioral, physical or medical needs due to their past history of abuse, neglect or abandonment. They are usually older children (the average age is 8-12), are frequently from minority groups and are sometimes part of a sibling group. Families must have agency training in adoption and special needs as well as a Family Profile (home study) completed by the agency. Many supports and services are available throughout the process of matching, placement, finalization and post-adoption. Many parents find that adopting a child with special needs is a challenging and rewarding experience.  Adoption Intake Form Click here to download an Adoption Intake Form. Frequently Asked Questions  Why are the children available for adoption?   Would we need to be foster parents first?   Do the children have medical, emotional and psychological problems?   Can I adopt an infant?  Is it okay if I already have children?  Can I adopt siblings?  Will the child receive subsidies with the adoption?  Will the child's birthparents still be involved in their life?  How much will the adoption cost?  What if we choose a child from outside Pennsylvania? Why are the children available for adoption? The children are available because they have been through the Children and Youth system and have had experiences that have caused their birth parents' rights to be terminated. Most of these children have experienced abuse and/or neglect in their past. Many of them have been in foster care and need a permanent home. All of the children have been registered on the Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN), which facilitates the adoption of children through county and local agencies in Pennsylvania.    Top Would we need to be foster parents first? No, although many foster parents later adopt their foster children. Some families choose to be foster parents first for the experience or for the chance to have younger children in their home who might later be available for adoption. In a foster care situation, there is no guarantee that any child will become legally free for adoption. Foster parents who wish to adopt are always taking a legal risk that the children in their care will be returned to the birth parents. For parents who do not want to take the risk of having a child leave their home, becoming pre-adoptive parents is the best option. For those parents who wish to risk the possibility of the child returning to the birth parents, foster care is a wonderful opportunity to help children and can be a rewarding experience.    Top Do the children have medical, emotional and psychological problems? Most of the children in the Statewide Adoption Network have some degree of emotional, psychological or behavioral problems because of their past experiences. A few have medical problems. Giving these children a stable, permanent, loving home allows them the opportunity to become the best person they can be in a safe environment. However, depending on the severity of the problems, not all children are able to make significant progress. Many need ongoing therapy or other support services.    Top Can I adopt an infant? The children in the Statewide Adoption Network can be any age, but are usually older. Occasionally there are infants or toddlers, but this is an infrequent occurrence. Most of the children are school age.    Top Is it okay if I already have children? Yes. Many families who adopt children through SWAN already have children, whether biological or adopted. The experience of raising children can be an advantage, but the family must carefully consider the effect that the adopted child will have on other children in the household.    Top Can I adopt siblings? Many times siblings are kept together for the purpose of adoption. It is not unusual for a sibling group of 2, 3 or 4 children to need an adoptive home. Families are considered for sibling groups based on the number of children already in the potential adoptive family, the ages of the children, the experience and abilities of the adoptive family and the needs of the individual children to be adopted.    Top Will the child receive subsidies with the adoption? In many cases, adoptive families receive a subsidy for the child, depending on the child's needs and the county involved. Subsidies vary greatly and are not guaranteed.    Top Will the child's birthparents still be involved in their life? In most cases, after parental rights are terminated, there is no further contact between the child and his/her birth parents. However, this is not always the case, due to different circumstances. For example, a birth parent may sometimes send gifts or cards to the child, usually through the Children and Youth agency. Also, many times contact is encouraged between the child and his/her siblings if they are in separate homes. The extended birth family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) sometimes wishes to maintain contact with the child. The decision to maintain contact is usually made by the agencies involved and the adoptive parents based on the best interests of the child.    Top How much will the adoption cost? Adoption through the Statewide Adoption Network costs nothing. Application, training, matching, placement, court finalization and follow-up services are provided free of charge.    Top What if we choose a child from outside Pennsylvania? An interstate adoption can occur, but it is subject to the regulations of an interstate agreement. Moreover, if a family does not adopt within Pennsylvania, they must pay for their Family Profile (home study) to be used by another state. Some states will reimburse families for this fee later, but this practice varies from state to state.   Top   The Adobe Acrobat Viewer is used to view the documents on this page. If you need this plugin you can obtain it for free by clicking on the image below.