Support a Clear path to adoption

Your donation helps reduce confusion and delays so children and sibling groups don’t wait longer than they should.

Across the U.S. many adults raise their hand to adopt, then hit silence, delays, or are redirected into foster parent licensing even when adoption is their goal.


We fill that gap with practical guidance and tools that help adults take the next right step.

The Forgotten Adoption Option (EIN: 87-4305358) is a public charity recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS under Section 501(c)(3).

Why give?

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    Over 40% of children waiting for adoption through the foster care system are 8 years or older, often overlooked by potential families.

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    Without adoption, many of these children risk aging out of the system without ever experiencing a permanent home.

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    A donation today ensures more adults desiring to adopt are equipped for the journey to adopt an older child in need.

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    Every year, nearly 20,000 youth age out of foster care, and with your support, we can change that.

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    Research shows that children adopted at older ages thrive emotionally and academically when placed in stable, loving families.

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    By supporting this mission, you are giving an older child the chance to thrive in a loving family, with the stability and opportunities they deserve.

Research shows that children thrive
best in families, where they receive
the love, support, and stability essential for their emotional and developmental well-being.

make a donation to help children grow up and grow old in a family.

Empower adults with a desire to adopt by providing them with practical tools and ongoing support to navigate the complex foster care adoption process, helping them become the forever family for a child or sibling group waiting to be adopted.

The Forgotten Adoption Option (EIN: 87-4305358) is a public charity recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS under Section 501(c)(3).

 FAQs

  • Foster care is a temporary, safe, supportive and loving home for children while a child’s parents of origin improve their ability to care for their children, remove any threats to the child’s safety and well-being from the environment and, ultimately, reunite with their children.

  • Children are placed in foster care because their home was not a safe place to be. Youth in foster care have survived abuse and neglect, in more rare cases youth can be in foster care because their caregiver(s) passed away and there was no family to take them in. While the primary goal of the foster care system is returning to their biological family(reunification), that is not always possible.

  • More than 100,000 children in foster care can’t return to their family of origin because a judge ruled that it is not safe. These are the children who are waiting to be adopted from foster care.

  • No, foster care adoption has a financial cost of $0 to $5,000. In some states, if an adoption finalizes, families can be reimbursed for adoption costs. Each state varies.

  • On average, the adoption process can take six to eighteen months.