How the Indiana Adoption Program Works and Where an Attorney Fits In

By: Grant Kirsh

If you have been researching how to adopt from Indiana foster care, you have likely come across the Indiana Adoption Program. It is a DCS initiative designed to recruit families for children who are legally free for adoption but do not yet have an identified adoptive family. Understanding how this program works, and where a private adoption attorney fits into the picture, can help you navigate the process more effectively.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions in Indiana. We work alongside the Indiana Adoption Program and DCS regularly, and we serve families in 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 across the state. Here is how it all fits together.

What Is the Indiana Adoption Program?

The Indiana Adoption Program is run by DCS and focuses on finding permanent families for children who are legally free for adoption, meaning parental rights have already been terminated, but who do not currently have an identified adoptive family. These children may be featured on the program’s website, at matching events, or through other recruitment efforts.

The program provides orientation sessions for families interested in adoption, helps with matching, and offers transition support when a child is placed with a new family.

Where Does an Attorney Fit In?

The Indiana Adoption Program handles the recruitment and matching side. But the legal process of actually finalizing the adoption requires an attorney. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-2-2 states that a petition for adoption must be filed by an attorney of record. That is where Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C. comes in.

Whether you are matched with a child through the Indiana Adoption Program, or you are a foster family already caring for a child whose permanency plan has changed to adoption, you need an attorney to handle the legal paperwork, file the adoption petition, negotiate the adoption subsidy agreements, and guide you through the finalization hearing.

An attorney who knows Indiana foster care courts, DCS procedures, and the judges in your county can make the legal process significantly smoother. At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have been doing this in every major county in Indiana for nearly 50 years.

Do You Need Both?

The Indiana Adoption Program and a private adoption attorney serve different but complementary roles. The program helps find families for children. The attorney handles the legal side. Working with both ensures that the matching process and the legal process move forward together.

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.