Delaware Special Needs Adoption: Older Children, Sibling Groups, and Waiting Kids

When people hear "special needs adoption," many assume it refers exclusively to children with serious medical diagnoses. In Delaware — as in most states — the designation is far broader. A six-year-old in DFS custody is "special needs" under Delaware's definition. A sibling set of three is "special needs." A teenager who has aged past the point where most families request younger children is "special needs." Understanding this distinction matters because it unlocks financial support that many adoptive families do not know they are entitled to.

What Delaware Means by "Special Needs"

Under Delaware's adoption assistance program, a child may be classified as special needs for any of the following reasons:

• Age: Older children (generally school-age and above) are considered harder to place and typically meet the criteria.
• Sibling group membership: Children who need to be placed together with their siblings qualify, because agencies have demonstrated difficulty placing sibling groups compared to individual children.
• Medical, physical, or emotional conditions: Developmental delays, behavioral health diagnoses (ADHD, reactive attachment disorder, trauma-related disorders), physical disabilities, or chronic medical conditions.
• Racial or ethnic background: Historically, some racial and ethnic groups have been underrepresented in placement families, and this factor may be considered in the special needs designation.

The special needs classification affects what financial assistance a family receives and what federal tax benefits are available. Most children available for adoption from Delaware DFS meet one or more of these criteria.

Adopting an Older Child from Delaware DFS

Older child adoption — typically defined as school-age or adolescent children — is the area where Delaware has the most urgent need and the smallest pool of interested families. Delaware's foster care system currently has several hundred children in care, and teenagers face the longest waits. Some age out of the system at 18 without a permanent family.

What families considering older child adoption need to know:

Teenagers must consent. Under Delaware law, a child 14 years of age or older must provide their own written consent (Form 159) to the adoption. This is not a barrier — it is a legal protection for the child — but families should understand that an older child is an active participant in the decision, not simply a recipient of it.

Attachment looks different with older children. Children who have experienced multiple placements, family disruption, and trauma develop different attachment patterns than infants or toddlers. Adoption-competent therapists trained in attachment and trauma are not optional supports for many older child adoptions — they are necessary infrastructure. Delaware's Medicaid coverage for adopted children with active adoption assistance agreements covers these services.

Older child adoption subsidies are available. The monthly adoption assistance payment for a 16-year-old in Delaware is up to $511.37 per month. Medicaid coverage continues. The $2,000 non-recurring expense reimbursement applies. And the federal Adoption Tax Credit at the full maximum ($17,280 for 2025) is available for older children who meet the special needs criteria.

Adopting a Sibling Group

Delaware DFS makes significant efforts to place sibling groups together whenever possible. Families willing to adopt siblings together are particularly valuable in a small state where the agency pool is limited and placement options for sibling groups are constrained.

Practical considerations for sibling group adoption:

Each child has their own adoption assistance agreement. Monthly payments, Medicaid coverage, and non-recurring expense reimbursement apply to each child individually. A family adopting three siblings would have three adoption assistance agreements, with payments for each child based on their individual circumstances and ages.

Home study considerations. The home study assesses your home's capacity to accommodate the number of children in the sibling group. Minimum space requirements apply — not necessarily separate bedrooms in all cases, but the agency worker inspects to confirm the home can support the children.

Combined federal tax credit. The federal Adoption Tax Credit applies per child. A family adopting a sibling group of three could potentially claim up to three times the per-child maximum ($17,280 × 3 = $51,840), subject to income phase-out rules and the tax liability ceiling. Unused credits carry forward for up to five years.

Delaware's Waiting Children: The Photo Listing

Delaware's "waiting children" — those who are legally free for adoption and actively seeking families — are listed on several platforms:

AdoptUsKids.org: The national database of waiting children funded by the Children's Bureau. Delaware children in DFS care appear here with identifying photographs and brief profiles describing the child's personality, needs, and the type of family they are looking for.

Delaware DFS orientation and matching: After completing the PRIDE training and home study through a DFS-contracted agency, families go through a matching process with DFS. The Permanency Planning Committee (PPC) is the internal DFS body that approves a family for a specific child. Attending the state orientation — typically hosted by Children & Families First or other DFS-contracted agencies — is the starting point.

Children & Families First (Wilmington and Dover): This agency runs an active program specifically focused on recruiting and supporting families for waiting children, including children with medical fragility and behavioral health needs.

A Better Chance For Our Children (ABCFOC): Specializes specifically in special needs adoption and post-adoption support. Both their recruitment and their post-placement services are oriented toward children with higher needs.

Financial Support for Special Needs Adoption

The combination of financial supports available for special needs adoption from Delaware DFS makes this pathway significantly more financially accessible than private infant adoption:

For a sibling group of three older children, the monthly adoption assistance alone could exceed $1,500 per month, with full Medicaid coverage for all three children, and federal tax credits potentially exceeding $50,000 (spread across carryforward years).

Getting Started with Special Needs Adoption in Delaware

The DFS pathway to special needs adoption starts with the orientation session. DFS-contracted agencies host statewide orientations — including virtual sessions via Zoom — that explain the foster-to-adopt process, introduce the PRIDE training requirement, and outline next steps.

After orientation, you complete the 27-hour PRIDE training and the home study, which is conducted by a licensed Delaware agency. Once approved, you enter the matching process with DFS.

The process is longer than private adoption, but the financial support, the urgent need for families, and the ability to give an older child or sibling group a permanent home are factors that drive many Delaware families to choose this pathway.

For a full breakdown of the DFS pathway — including what happens at the Permanency Planning Committee review, how to navigate the adoption assistance negotiation, and what post-adoption supports are available through ABCFOC — the Delaware Adoption Process Guide covers the foster-to-adopt and special needs adoption pathway in detail.

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