A common path to adoption is foster/adopt or adopting a legally free child directly from the foster care or state child welfare agency. Foster parents are licensed through individual agencies contracted with the state. The licensing process requires several weeks of foster parent education courses, called PS-MAPPS in Arizona, a home study, background checks, and a licensing inspection.

Children adopted through the Department of Child Safety "DCS" (formerly CPS or Child Protective Services) are typically eligible for adoption subsidy, which usually means no out of pocket expense for adoptive parents. While foster parents are entitled to select any private attorney to complete their DCS adoption and are not limited in their selection, Compass Pointe's attorneys are well versed in handling foster care adoptions and frequently work with DCS statewide to accomplish adoptions in a variety of counties. When selecting your attorney it is important to ensure they are experienced with DCS adoptions, as it is important to have counsel that can advise you on the subsidy process.