DCYF Adoption in New Hampshire: How to Adopt from Foster Care

Adopting through New Hampshire's Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is the most supported, most affordable adoption pathway in the state. It is also the most emotionally complex. Understanding exactly how the public system works — from becoming a licensed foster parent to completing the final adoption decree — gives you the foundation to decide whether this path is right for your family.

How DCYF Adoption Is Different

Private domestic adoption and DCYF adoption have the same legal endpoint — a Final Decree of Adoption from the NH Probate Court, an amended birth certificate, a permanent parent-child relationship. But the path to that endpoint is structurally different.

In a private adoption, you and a birth family make a mutual choice to work together, and the birth parents voluntarily surrender their rights. The process is designed around that choice.

In DCYF adoption, you become a foster parent for a child who has been removed from their birth family by the state. The goal of the foster placement — by law — is reunification with the birth family whenever safely possible. Adoption only becomes the goal when the court determines that reunification cannot happen within a timeframe that serves the child's needs.

This means that in DCYF adoption, you are not adopting a child who was matched to you from day one. You are caring for a child whose future is uncertain — who might return to their birth family or might not — and who needs stable, committed care throughout that uncertainty.

Families who succeed in DCYF adoption are families who can hold both of those realities simultaneously: caring deeply for a child who might leave, while being fully prepared to be their permanent parent if they stay.

DCYF Concurrent Planning

The legal model DCYF uses is called concurrent planning. Under this model, DCYF simultaneously works toward two plans:

• Plan A: Reunification with the biological family (services, support, court-ordered conditions for parents to meet)
• Plan B: Adoption with the foster family if reunification fails

The child is placed with a foster family who has been informed of both possibilities and has agreed to support both goals. This model reduces transitions for children — the foster home that supports reunification becomes the adoptive home if reunification is not achieved — but it requires foster parents to genuinely support the reunification process even while potentially becoming the child's adoptive parents.

If you are considering DCYF adoption and are not comfortable actively supporting a birth family's reunification efforts, this is the pathway to reconsider. DCYF actively looks for foster families who can hold both possibilities without hostility toward the birth family.

Step 1: FACES Training and Foster Parent Licensing

Before any child can be placed with you through DCYF, you must be licensed as a foster or adoptive home. The licensing process begins with the FACES curriculum.

FACES (Foster & Adoptive Care Essentials) is a 21-hour training program that covers:

• Child development and the effects of trauma and neglect
• Attachment theory and how it applies to children who have experienced loss
• Grief, loss, and the emotional dynamics of separation
• Supporting a child's connection to their birth family and cultural identity
• Self-care for foster parents

FACES training is offered by DCYF and the NH Foster & Adoptive Parent Association (NHFAPA). It can be completed in person across multiple sessions or in some cases online. It is a prerequisite for licensing — you cannot skip it or substitute another training.

After FACES, the licensing process includes:

• A home study conducted by DCYF (at no cost to the family)
• Fingerprint-based background checks (NH State Police and FBI) for all adults 17 and older in the home
• Central registry check for child abuse and neglect findings
• Fire and safety inspection of the home
• Medical statements from a physician
• Financial disclosure

The licensing process typically takes three to six months from application to approved home.

What Happens After Placement

When DCYF places a child with you, the terms of your foster license determine what you are authorized to do. As a foster parent approved for adoption, you will be placed with children who are on concurrent planning tracks — meaning they are simultaneously subject to reunification efforts and potentially available for adoption.

The length of the foster placement before adoption is possible varies dramatically by case:

• If the birth parents' rights are already terminated when the child enters placement (uncommon but possible), the timeline to adoption can be six to twelve months
• If reunification is being attempted, the process may take one to three years before the court determines reunification is not achievable and TPR is pursued

During the placement, DCYF provides a foster care board rate to help cover the cost of the child's care. Medical coverage through NH Medicaid is typically provided for the child.

Termination of Parental Rights Under RSA 170-C

When DCYF determines that reunification is not achievable, they petition the court for Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) under RSA Chapter 170-C. This is a separate, often contested legal proceeding.

Grounds for TPR under RSA 170-C:5 include:

• Abandonment (no contact or support for six months)
• Failure to correct the conditions that led to the child's removal within 12 months of placement, despite DCYF's reasonable efforts
• Parental unfitness due to mental illness or deficiency that will not improve
• Substantial and continuous neglect
• Severe abuse

The standard of proof is clear and convincing evidence — a high bar. A Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is typically appointed to represent the child's interests in the proceeding. If TPR is contested, the case can take six to twelve months to resolve.

Once the court grants the TPR order, the child is legally free for adoption. The child does not automatically become available to you — DCYF makes a placement decision based on the child's best interests — but as the child's current foster family, you are in a strong position to be selected as the adoptive family.

From Foster Parent to Adoptive Petitioner

After TPR is granted and the child has been in your home for at least six months (combined foster and adoptive placement time typically satisfies this), you file the adoption petition in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in your county.

The petition for DCYF adoptions uses the same forms as other adoptions (NHJB-2185-FP for unrelated children). DCYF typically provides support through the finalization process, and in many cases, DCYF will reimburse your attorney fees and court filing costs.

The finalization hearing for DCYF adoptions is typically a celebration — a brief, joyful proceeding that marks the permanent beginning of your legal family.

Adoption Assistance for DCYF Adoptions

Many children adopted through DCYF qualify for ongoing adoption assistance. Under the NH Adoption Assistance Program, children who meet the special needs criteria receive:

• Monthly adoption assistance payments
• Ongoing NH Medicaid coverage
• Potential reimbursement for non-recurring adoption expenses

Special needs criteria include: age 6 or older at placement, member of a minority group, part of a sibling group, documented physical/mental/emotional disability, or high risk of disability based on adverse childhood experiences.

The adoption assistance agreement must be in place before finalization. Talk to your DCYF caseworker about eligibility and negotiate the agreement before the hearing. This is not a formality — the monthly payments and Medicaid coverage can be significant, especially for children with high medical or therapeutic needs.

The Adopt NH Portal

DCYF operates the "Adopt NH" online resource at adoptnh.org, which provides:

• Orientation information for prospective adoptive parents
• Information about waiting children
• Links to FACES training schedules
• Contact information for regional DCYF offices

The Adopt NH portal is the right starting point if you are exploring DCYF adoption for the first time. DCYF also offers periodic orientation sessions for prospective adoptive families.

Who Is in the DCYF Waiting Pool

New Hampshire's foster care system receives approximately 1,100 to 1,200 children per year. The children who are available for adoption through DCYF are typically:

• Older children (school age through teenagers)
• Children who are part of sibling groups
• Children with documented histories of trauma, neglect, or abuse
• Children with physical, developmental, or behavioral health needs

Healthy infants available for adoption through DCYF are rare, and wait times for them are long. If your primary goal is to adopt a healthy newborn, private agency or independent adoption may be a better fit. If you are open to older children, sibling groups, or children with special needs, DCYF's need for committed homes is significant.

For a full guide to the DCYF adoption process — including the FACES training timeline, what happens at each stage of concurrent planning, how to negotiate an adoption assistance agreement, and what post-adoption services DCYF provides — the New Hampshire Adoption Process Guide covers the public pathway in detail. Get the guide at /us/new-hampshire/adoption.

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