Adopting from Foster Care

I'm not in Wisc and didn't adopt a sibling group, but I did adopt from foster care. My daughter came with Medicaid as secondary insurance, which meant that whatever appointment/treatment/prescription cost was not covered by my insurance was covered by Medicaid. In my very limited experience, the children that get listed on waiting children lists do have the worst issues. One of my foster-children had a sibling go on a list, and it was because he had fetal alcohol issues, otherwise he was a cute little boy, and seemed sweet at sibling visits. When I was getting started I called several local counties. One had a reputation of not taking children from homes, and they almost never had a need for foster-adopt parents. The second county did have a need but reacted a bit hostilely toward my questions about subsidy, they said they don't pay any for 'normal' children and pay a lot for children with serious special needs. The third county I called was welcoming and eager and assured me they do pay the subsidy and had over 300 adoptions per year. I went with that county and it worked out very well except that it was a burdensomely long way to drive the child there for parental visits. So I would recommend you call the department of human services of all your close counties and discuss your questions with them.

adopted from foster care. waiting lists are for kid's they have trouble placing. this means there was no family or foster home looking to adopt them. this can be because they have real issues, or it can mean they are looking for a special type of family (LGBT kids, for example need a home where they can be cherish, supported for who they are) subsidies are, for the most part, a thing of the past. i do have medicaid as a secondary insurance, like pp stated, but it doesn't cover much. there are sometimes exception for special needs kids (mine is listed as special need, but there are not extra funds) the costs of adopting form foster care is very small. unlike domestic adoption. if you are trying to adopt from out of state, your big cost is travel. Not sure about this year, but in the past, income tax credits can help you recoup any costs good luck

I have 3 bio kids and three I adopted from foster care in another state. I receive a subsidy. PM me if you would like to know more

Our case worker also says that the kids who are photo listed are difficult to place. However, it seems that sometimes it is purely that they are large sibling groups or siblings that need to stay together...being a teen is also a special needs issue. So read between the lines of the profile and see if there are red flags ie can't be with other children, no pets, may not share a room, etc