Kinship Adoption in Indiana: What Families Need to Know

By: Grant Kirsh

When a child is removed from their home by DCS, Indiana law and policy give priority to placing that child with relatives whenever possible. If you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or other family member who has taken in a child through Indiana’s foster care system, you may be on the path to adoption, sometimes called kinship adoption.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions in Indiana, and a significant number of those have been kinship adoptions. We work with families across Marion County, Lake County, Allen County, Hamilton County, Tippecanoe County, St. Joseph County, Hendricks County, Elkhart County, Johnson County, Delaware County, Vanderburgh County, Porter County, Madison County, Vigo County, Monroe County, and throughout Indiana. Here is what you need to know.

What Makes Kinship Placement Different?

When a kinship relationship exists between the child and a potential placement family, that family may receive priority for placement without going through the full foster care licensing process. Kinship families may skip or expedite licensing, depending on the circumstances.

This is an important distinction. It means that relatives can often have a child placed with them more quickly than a non-relative foster family. It also means that the path to adoption may look slightly different.

The Legal Process Is the Same

While placement may happen faster for kinship families, the legal process for adoption remains the same. Parental rights must be terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily through a court proceeding. TPR is involuntary in most cases. Only DCS or the Guardian ad Litem may file the TPR petition.

After TPR, DCS typically requires the child to be placed in the home for at least 6 months before consenting to the adoption. This is a DCS policy, not a law. Once DCS consents, the adoption petition is filed, and the finalization hearing is scheduled.

Adoption Subsidies Apply to Kinship Adoptions

Kinship families who adopt from foster care qualify for the same adoption subsidies as any other foster care adoptive family. You do not need to be a licensed foster parent in order to receive adoption subsidies. Nearly every child adopted from Indiana foster care automatically qualifies for three subsidies: a recurring daily subsidy equal to the foster care per diem rate ($20 to over $100 per day), Medicaid through age 18, and a non-recurring adoption expense of $2,000 for legal fees. All three can extend to age 21 in certain situations.

These subsidies are negotiated before finalization. Do not finalize without them. An experienced adoption attorney will make sure these agreements are in place.

Navigating Family Dynamics

Kinship adoption involves a unique emotional complexity. You are adopting a child whose biological parents are your own family members, a sibling, a child, a niece, a nephew. It could also be a neighbor, a teacher, or a family friend. That creates dynamics that non-kinship foster families do not face. Navigating those relationships, especially if the biological parents contested TPR or have ongoing contact with you, requires care, boundaries, and sometimes professional support.

Call us at 317-575-5555. Visit us at DCSAdoptions.com.

For a complete overview of the foster care adoption process, read our Complete Guide to Adopting from Indiana Foster Care.

About the Author
Grant Kirsh is a second-generation adoption attorney and owner of Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., a family law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana that has been serving Indiana families since 1981. Grant graduated from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2013 and has personally handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions and his law firm has handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. He practices all forms of domestic adoption, with a deep personal commitment to expectant mothers considering adoption in Indiana and Indiana’s foster care system and the families and children it serves.