Increasing numbers of relatives have stepped forward to care for vulnerable children who cannot live with their parents. Many relatives or “kin” proceed to adopt the child, while others prefer to be the child's guardian in order to preserve the child's legal ties to one or both parents.

If the child is in the custody of a public agency, you should contact that agency to express your interest in adoption. Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children’s Bureau, provides a State-by-State listing of public adoption agencies in the National Foster Care & Adoption Directory at http://www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad/index.cfm.  Most often, relatives care for children as foster parents before adoption takes place. State regulations vary, but you may be required to take training classes and complete a family assessment before you are licensed as a foster parent or allowed to adopt the child. Child Welfare Information Gateway provides additional information about adopting your relative's child from foster care in its factsheet, Kinship Caregivers and the Child Welfare System: A Factsheet for Families, at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_kinshi/index.cfm. 

For information regarding adopting a relative’s child who is not in foster care, contact an attorney familiar with the adoption laws in the State(s) where you and the child live.

Adopting a relative is difficult and may not be possible. The requirements depend on the country in which the relative lives. The relative must be 16 years old or younger when the petition for adoption is filed. If the relative lives in a Hague country, he or she must meet the child requirements outlined in the Hague ( e.g. the child must be a habitual resident in a Hague country. The birth parents may be living but may release the child for adoption if they are incapable of caring for the child).  If the relative lives in a non-Hague country, he or she must meet the definition of an orphan according to U.S. Immigration law.. The definition is found at “How do I apply to bring a foreign-born orphan to the United States?” at (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=5da2194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=063807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD). If the child meets this requirement, an adoption agency that places children in the child’s home country may be able to help you with the adoption. If the child does not meet this requirement, a lawyer familiar with immigration law can help you explore other options. The U.S. Department of State provides information on adopting relatives in Intercountry Adoption of Relatives online at http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_474.html.

Child Welfare Information Gateway also has comprehensive information about adoption on its website at http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption.The section of this site on Kinship/Relative Families has additional resources for kinship families at http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/types/families/kinship.cfm.