Texas Adoptions From Foster Care Fell to 2,942 in FY 2025

DFPS consummated 2,942 adoptions in FY 2025, down from 3,209 the year before and from a recent high of 6,107 in FY 2019.

A headline could stop there. But adoptions can only come from children in care, and that number has fallen too. On August 31, 2019, 29,242 Texas children were in substitute care; on August 31, 2025, 16,866 were. Children in care fell 42% across those years; adoptions fell 52%. Fewer children in care explains much of the decline, though not all of it.

Relatives adopt, too

Of the 2,942 adoptions, 1,201 were by relatives: grandparents, aunts and uncles making a temporary arrangement permanent. Non-relative families adopted 1,741 children.

Where adoptions happened

Bexar County recorded the most adoptions (368), followed by Harris (288), Tarrant (171) and Dallas (166). Explore every county on the Texas explorer.

The question worth asking

Fewer adoptions alongside fewer children in care is not by itself good or bad news. The questions that matter are whether children who cannot go home reach a permanent family quickly, and whether teens and sibling groups get the same chance as younger children. The Data Book counts are a start; we'll keep reading the reports for the rest.