Adopt

Learn about the adoption process, support, and resources for prospective adoptive families.

What is Adoption?

When you adopt a child, you legally and emotionally accept a child not born to you into your family, permanently taking on the responsibility of the health, well-being, growth, and development of the child.

Who are the Children Available for Adoption?

Children become available for adoption for a number of reasons. While many children available for adoption are generally healthy, some may have physical or behavioral challenges due to their past. CYFD will provide additional medical or psychological help when needed. Children come from different backgrounds, ethnic groups, cultures, religions, and a multitude of circumstances and emotions. All of them deserve a loving family.

Children waiting to be adopted are in foster homes, group homes, or treatment centers. They are all in the legal custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

Click here for more information about children eligible for adoption

How are Children Matched with Families?

You can review any of the agency adoption sites to find a child who matches your family. A caseworker will tell you about them in detail before you are introduced. You will be given available medical, social, educational, and developmental information. You should ask a lot of questions, especially about what the child is good at, what is most difficult, and about previous relationships and attachments. Arrangements can then be made for you to meet and spend time with the child. There may be several visits, including some overnights and weekends, before your child comes to live with you permanently. Each child’s situation is different. Your experiences with visits and placement will vary depending on the child’s needs.

Some people go into the adoption process with a specific child already identified. It is important to understand, however, that the child may be placed with another family before your adoption study is complete. Final placement decisions are always made by the child’s social worker. Sometimes many families may be considered for the same child. In these cases, the case worker will try to provide the best “fit” between the child and prospective family by evaluating how the child’s needs can best be met.

Adoption Subsidies

Adoption subsidies are available for children with special needs. Federal subsidies were created by Congress (through Public Law 96-272—the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980) to encourage the adoption of special needs children and remove the financial disincentives to adoption for the families. Children may receive a federally funded subsidy under Title IV-E or a state-funded subsidy as per state guidelines.

Questions regarding adoption subsidies in New Mexico should be directed to:

Nicholas Njua
Children, Youth & Families Department
Adoptions/Kinship Supervisor
P.O. Drawer 5160
Santa Fe, NM 87502
Phone: (505) 328-7411
E-mail: PS.Subsidy@cyfd.nm.gov

Although adoptive parents should always consult a tax specialist, it is true that families who adopt a child or teen with special needs from foster care can claim a federal adoption tax credit without needing to incur or document expenses.

Children who are harder to place for adoption — older children (including teens of any age), children of color, sibling groups, and children with medical conditions or disabilities — are often determined to have special needs.

There is a federal adoption tax credit of up to $14,890 per child for families who finalize the adoption of a child with special needs in 2022 and fulfill the eligibility requirements.

For non-special needs adoptions, parents can claim the tax credit based on their qualified adoption expenses that have not been reimbursed by anyone else. If the expenses are less than $14,890, parents can only claim the amount of those expenses. If the expenses exceed $14,890, parents can only claim $14,890 per child.