Carroll County Department of Social Services

Foster Care and Adoption Programs

Kinship Care - provides efforts to place children in short-term substitute care with relatives rather than unrelated foster parents when out-of-home placement is required because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

Foster Care - designed to provide short-term substitute care for children removed from their homes with services to families to achieve permanency plans through family reunification or alternative permanent placement when reunification is not possible. Foster care placements are made only for children who are abused, neglected, abandoned, or dependent on the State.

Adoption - provides a safe, stable, and permanent family arrangement when attempts at maintaining or reunifying the child with birth parent(s) or other relatives have been unsuccessful.


Services Include:
  1. Recruitment of adoptive/foster care parents
  2. Pre- and post-placement service
  3. Referral to legal services
  4. Licensing and training of foster families
  5. Oversight of care providers
  6. Counseling & therapy for children & families
  7. Health care for children
  8. Transportation services
  9. Reunification and supportive services
  10. Training for foster & kinship care families

Kinship Care, Foster Care and Adoption services are provided without regard to family income and without cost to the families.

For additional information on Foster Care and Adoption Programs, please contact Carroll County Department of Social Services at 410-386-3434.

Adoption Search, Contact & Reunion

An additional range of services allow interested birth relatives to request a confidential search to obtain information from other birth relatives separated through adoption.
Adoptees (21 or older) and birth parents may request search, contact and reunion services unless the adult adoptee lives in the same home as a minor adoptive birth sibling.
Fees, ranging up to $450 have been established to help defer expenses. However, fees can be reduced or waived, based upon family income levels.
Referrals for this program are made through a Certified Confidential Intermediary.



For information about the Adoption Search, Contact & Reunion Program, call:
1-800-392-3678
1-800-39-adopt