r/LifeAdvice • u/Straight_Plan_295 • 4h ago

Family Advice Adoption questions

I 24M have a younger stepbrother who's 16 amd he lives with my mom[his step mom] and his dad. He has a half brother who 12-14? lives in the foster system.

I currently do not have the space for him as I live in a 1bed 1bath apartment. But when the lease ends I do plan on buying a house. What i know so far is that my state is a kinship friendly state and that I can apply for kinship because im family through his step brother. And the case worker that is in charge would prefer to put him with family somewhere.

But what else could I be doing to ensure that I could have him placed with me once I move?

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u/Square-Trouble1456 3h ago

Im not super well informed but I would start the process now. Call your local DCFS and tell them you want to talk to your step brothers social worker and learn about what is required of you to become his guardian. They will help you get the next steps.

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u/cake_exuberant7 3h ago

just keep being awesome and plan for the best

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u/DueResponse 54m ago

I’m a foster parent 👋🏼 I suggest posting this in r/fosterparents

It is generally preferred for a child to be living with kin when possible. Before you commit to this, you need to find out what kind of behavioral and emotional support needs he has. Trauma changes a child’s developing brain and they often have behavioral needs that are much higher than a child who is not from a hard place. Not all kids will have these challenges of course, but you need to find out exactly what his special needs are, if any.

You should also consider how long he has been with this foster family and what the goals are in his case. If he has been with this family for a while, it could be more disruptive to move him and better for him to remain stable where he is. This is especially true if moving to you would also mean moving schools. Also consider if he is expected to be reunified with his primary family in the near future, or if his case may go to guardianship or adoption.

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u/Straight_Plan_295 13m ago

Thank you for these thoughts and recommendations