Alabama Adoption Requirements: DHR Process, Eligibility, and What to Expect

Most children adopted in Alabama each year were first placed in foster care. That means the path to adoption through DHR and the path to foster care licensing start in exactly the same place. If you are hoping to adopt through the state system, you will complete the same application, the same TIPS-MAPP training, and the same home study as any other foster parent — with a few additional layers specific to adoption.

Who Can Adopt in Alabama

Alabama law permits single individuals, married couples, and divorced or widowed individuals to adopt through DHR. Unmarried couples who are living together are not eligible for the standard DHR foster-to-adopt process.

The minimum age to foster — and therefore to pursue foster-to-adopt — is 19. Some private agencies set a higher threshold, particularly for therapeutic or high-needs placements. If adoption is your primary goal from the start, be upfront with your county DHR office or the private agency you work with, as concurrent planning (simultaneous pursuit of reunification and adoption) shapes how your home study is structured.

If a married couple is pursuing adoption, some county offices and private child-placing agencies require the marriage to have lasted at least three years, rather than the standard one-year requirement for foster care licensing alone. This varies by office and agency — ask directly during your inquiry.

The Foster-to-Adopt Process Through DHR

Alabama does not have a separate "adoption only" track for children in state custody. You begin as a licensed foster parent, and adoption becomes an option if the child placed with you becomes legally free.

Step 1: Apply and get licensed. Submit Form DHR-FCS-704 to your county DHR office, complete all background checks (ABI, FBI, DHR Central Registry, sex offender registry), complete a medical exam for each adult in the household (Form DHR-2092), and gather your supporting documents.

Step 2: Complete TIPS-MAPP. The 30-hour TIPS-MAPP training (10 weekly sessions of 3 hours each) is mandatory for all foster and adoptive parents licensed through DHR. There is no abbreviated version for applicants who are adoption-focused. The curriculum covers trauma-informed parenting, attachment, loss, birth family connections, and the role of the foster parent in the child welfare team.

Step 3: Complete the home study. A DHR licensing worker or social worker from a contracted private agency conducts the home study. For adoption-focused applicants, the worker will explore your motivations around permanency, your readiness for an older child or sibling group, and your flexibility around a child's background and history.

Step 4: Receive a placement and establish a relationship. Adoption through DHR is relationship-based. You typically cannot request a specific child. Instead, children are matched to homes based on age, needs, and fit. If you indicate you are open to foster-to-adopt, DHR will prioritize placements where the child's permanency goal already includes adoption, or where reunification has failed.

Step 5: Wait for parental rights to be terminated. A child cannot be adopted until the court has terminated the biological parents' parental rights. This is a legal process that takes time — often 12 to 18 months or more from the time of removal, sometimes longer. Until termination of parental rights (TPR) is finalized, the primary goal is always reunification.

Step 6: Formalize the adoption. Once a child is legally free, DHR prepares an adoptive placement. If you are the current foster parent and the child has been in your home for at least three months, Alabama law gives you "first consideration" as the adoptive resource, provided you can meet the child's long-term needs. Adoption finalization requires a court hearing in probate or family court.

Concurrent Planning: What It Means for You

Alabama uses concurrent planning, which means DHR works toward reunification with the birth family while simultaneously identifying a permanent adoptive placement as a backup. As a foster parent, you are part of that plan. You support visits between the child and their biological parents. You may attend Individualized Service Plan (ISP) team meetings. You are a partner in the process, not a bystander.

This is emotionally difficult. Foster parents who enter the system with adoption as their sole objective sometimes struggle with the reunification phase, particularly if they have bonded deeply with the child. Knowing upfront that reunification is DHR's first goal — and that it is the right goal — prepares you for the reality of the process better than focusing only on the adoption endpoint.

Private Agency Adoption vs. DHR Direct

Several private child-placing agencies in Alabama are authorized by the state to license foster parents and facilitate adoptions, including:

• Lifeline Children's Services (Birmingham area, faith-based)
• AGAPE of North Alabama (serving 22 northern counties)
• Alabama Baptist Children's Homes (statewide)
• KidsPeace (statewide, specializing in therapeutic and higher-needs cases)
• Mentor Foster Care (Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Montgomery)

These agencies run their own TIPS-MAPP classes and conduct home studies on DHR's behalf. They typically provide more hands-on support throughout the process. Some families find the private agency route more navigable than working directly with their county DHR office, particularly in rural areas where county offices are understaffed.

Private domestic infant adoption (through a private attorney or adoption agency, where a birth parent voluntarily places a newborn) is a separate process not covered here. That process operates under different statutes and typically involves significantly higher costs.

Home Study Requirements for Adoption

The home study for adoption covers the same ground as a foster care home study — safety inspection, individual and joint interviews, references, financial disclosure — with additional focus on adoption-specific topics:

• Your expectations about the age, background, and needs of a child you are willing to adopt
• Your approach to adoption disclosure (how and when you will talk with a child about their adoption story)
• Your support system for navigating a child's identity questions and connection to birth culture
• Whether you are open to sibling groups, older children, or children with special medical or developmental needs

The written autobiographical statement is particularly important for adoption home studies. Workers are assessing long-term parenting fit, not just immediate safety capacity.

Timeline Realistic Expectations

The licensing process from inquiry to approved home study typically runs five to nine months in Alabama. After placement, the wait for parental rights termination and adoption finalization depends entirely on the child's case — it can range from one year to several years.

Families who approach DHR expecting a quick path to a healthy infant will be disappointed. Alabama DHR's waiting children are predominantly school-age, sibling groups, or children with higher needs. The agency actively recruits families willing to consider these children, and the matching process will move faster if your family is open to a broader range.

Your Rights in the Adoption Process

Under Alabama's Foster Parent Bill of Rights (SB228), you have the right to be notified of court hearings related to the child in your care, to receive information about the child's history and needs at placement, and to have your concerns heard by DHR supervisors. If you disagree with a decision DHR makes about a child in your home — including a decision that affects your potential to adopt — AFAPA (the Alabama Foster and Adoptive Parent Association) can assign an advocate to assist you.

If your application is denied, you have the right to an administrative hearing under Chapter 660-1-5 of the Alabama Administrative Code. The request must be made in writing, typically within 10 to 60 days of the denial notice.

The Alabama Foster Care Licensing Guide covers both the foster care and foster-to-adopt tracks in detail, including document checklists, home study preparation, and what concurrent planning looks like in practice.

See more United States guides →