Georgia tax credit expansion increases incentives to adopt teens

When a teenager is removed from an abusive or neglectful environment and placed with a loving foster family, it can feel like an unfamiliar gift – one they’re unsure how to accept. Many teens in foster care struggle to form connections, often expecting to age out of the system and face adulthood alone.

For those who do age out, the reality is often bleak: homelessness, incarceration, poverty and trauma.

These young adults typically lack a stable family to return to — and without support, their chances of long-term success are drastically reduced.

But a promising shift is underway in Georgia. Thanks to recent changes in the state’s newest tax credit, more teens in foster care may now have a chance at something they rarely receive: a permanent, loving family.

How Georgia law expands adoption tax credit

The Fostering Success Tax Credit, enacted in 2022, provides up to $20 million annually in funding to support young adults who age out of foster care.

Credit: hand

Richard Jackson

Donors — both individuals and corporations — receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction on their Georgia state income taxes when they contribute to approved nonprofits like Fostering Success Act Inc., which provide grants to former foster youth pursuing higher education or career training.

This year, the Georgia General Assembly expanded the law’s impact. Under the revised legislation, the tax credit will now help cover key post-secondary expenses — such as medical care, mental health services, books, computers, housing, transportation and more — for youth adopted from foster care, not just those who age out.

This change addresses a practical barrier. Foster families often step up to care for teens but many lack the financial resources to fully support them beyond high school. Although biological parents typically plan for college and related costs, foster parents face those expenses without the same preparation or support. These improvements to the tax credit help close that gap and reduce the financial uncertainty that may discourage adoption.

To qualify, the young person must have spent at least six months in Georgia’s foster care system after age 14, and the adoptive family must meet eligibility criteria for financial assistance. The goal is simple but profound: make it easier to say “yes” to adoption — and to the lifelong commitment that comes with it.

Children in foster care are at risk of adverse experiences

The need is urgent, because fewer than 1 in 4 teens are adopted. For example, in 2024, only 115 of Georgia’s 544 teens in foster care, just 21%, were adopted.

The outcomes speak for themselves: