Kinship Adoption in Pennsylvania: How Relatives Can Formally Adopt

Kinship adoption in Pennsylvania allows relatives and close family friends—sometimes called "fictive kin"—to formally adopt a child who is already living with them. It is often initiated when a child has been placed with a relative through the child welfare system and that relative wants to make the arrangement permanent.

Pennsylvania courts strongly favor kinship placements. The goal is to keep children connected to their family and community whenever possible, and adoption by a relative is seen as the most stable form of permanency when reunification with biological parents is not possible.

Who Can Pursue Kinship Adoption in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's kinship adoption framework is available to relatives—including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and adult siblings—as well as to close family friends who have an established relationship with the child ("fictive kin"). There is no specific degree of relationship required. What matters is the quality and stability of the relationship between the child and the prospective adoptive family.

Many kinship adoptions begin as informal care arrangements or formal foster care placements that transition to adoption. If a child is living with you as a foster placement through your county Children and Youth Agency (CYA) and reunification has been ruled out, the permanency goal may shift to kinship adoption.

How Kinship Adoption Differs from Other Pathways

Simplified home study requirements. While the full pre-placement home study is still required in most kinship adoption situations, some requirements may be modified when the child has already been residing with the relative for a significant period. This is at the discretion of the county CYA and the court. Background clearances (PATCH, Childline, FBI) remain mandatory for all household members 18 or older, regardless of any other simplifications.

Financial support may be available. Children adopted by kinship caregivers who meet the "special needs" definition under the Adoption Assistance Program may qualify for ongoing AAP monthly payments, Medicaid coverage, and non-recurring expense reimbursement. The eligibility criteria and negotiation process are the same as for any other foster care adoption—the subsidy must be negotiated before finalization.

DHS involvement varies. If the child entered your home through a formal DHS or county CYA placement, the county remains involved throughout the TPR and adoption process. If the child has been living with you informally (without a formal court order or agency placement), you will need to initiate contact with the county to formalize the arrangement before pursuing adoption.

The TPR Requirement

Before a kinship adoption can be finalized, the parental rights of the biological parents must be terminated—either voluntarily through consent or involuntarily through a court proceeding. This is the same requirement that applies to all adoptions in Pennsylvania.

In many kinship situations, the biological parents are known to the child and have an ongoing relationship with the child and the kinship caregiver. TPR proceedings can be emotionally difficult when the biological parents oppose them but the court determines that adoption is in the child's best interest.

If the biological parents consent to TPR because they want the child to have stability with the kinship family, the process is typically faster and less contentious. If TPR is contested, attorney representation is strongly advisable.

Legal Rights and Responsibilities After Kinship Adoption

Once a kinship adoption is finalized, the kinship caregiver becomes the child's legal parent with all the rights and responsibilities that entails—including full authority over medical decisions, educational matters, and residence. The child has full inheritance rights from the adoptive parent.

The child's legal relationship to the biological parents is severed by the adoption. In practice, many kinship adoption families maintain some form of ongoing contact with the biological family. This contact is not legally required unless a Post-Adoption Contact Agreement (PACA) was entered at finalization, but many families find that a degree of openness serves the child's needs.

Common Kinship Adoption Situations

Grandparent adoption. Grandparents who have been raising a grandchild following the death, incarceration, or incapacity of the biological parents are among the most common kinship adopters in Pennsylvania. Grandparent adoptions often qualify for AAP if the child was in foster care before placement.

Sibling adoption. An adult sibling who has taken in a younger sibling may pursue adoption to provide legal permanency and stability.

Relative placement through DHS. When a child is removed from their biological home by CYA and placed with a relative, the relative may be offered the option to pursue foster care licensure and eventual adoption. The county CYA manages this process through SWAN.

Background Clearances for Kinship Adoption

Background clearances are mandatory for all household members age 18 or older, regardless of whether other home study requirements are modified. Pennsylvania requires three clearances:

• PA State Police Criminal History (PATCH): Ordered online through the PA Access to Criminal History portal
• PA Child Abuse History Clearance (Childline): Ordered online through the PA DHS portal
• FBI Fingerprint Check: Completed at an approved IdentoGO location; results typically take 2–4 weeks

Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344, certain convictions act as absolute bars to adoption approval regardless of kinship relationship. These include criminal homicide, rape, sexual offenses involving minors, endangering the welfare of children, and felony drug offenses within the preceding five years.

If any household member has any criminal history, consult an adoption attorney before proceeding. Not all criminal records are disqualifying, but they must be evaluated carefully.

Kinship Adoption Costs

Kinship adoption in Pennsylvania typically costs $1,000–$8,000, significantly less than private domestic agency adoption.

The primary cost variables are:

• Attorney fees: $1,500–$4,000 for Orphans' Court petition preparation and finalization (higher if TPR is contested)
• Home study (if required): $900–$3,000 if not funded by DHS
• Background clearance fees: approximately $50–$75 in processing costs
• Orphans' Court filing fee: $95–$349 depending on county

For families whose child was placed through the county CYA as a foster placement, many of these costs may be covered or reimbursed through the Adoption Assistance Program, which provides up to $2,000 in non-recurring adoption expense reimbursement for qualifying children.

Getting Started

If a child in your care was placed through the county CYA, contact your assigned caseworker to discuss the pathway from kinship foster care to adoption. If the arrangement was informal, contact your county CYA directly to discuss formalizing the placement.

For a complete overview of Pennsylvania's adoption pathways, including how kinship adoption fits within the broader SWAN system and what financial support is available, see the Pennsylvania Adoption Process Guide.

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