Free genogram template

Adoption and Foster Care Genogram Template

Adoptive and birth families on one page, with biological, adopted and foster child lines drawn distinctly.

Updated October 2026 · PDF, PowerPoint, PNG and SVG · no sign-up

Quick answer

An adoption and foster care genogram template shows an adoptive family with a biological child, an adopted child and a foster child, each connected by a different child line, plus the adopted child’s birth parents. A dashed household boundary shows who lives together. It keeps both families visible, which matters for identity and contact planning.

Open in GenogramAI (free) Download blank PDF

Download the adoption and foster care genogram template

Free files, no sign-up or email. Print the blank, edit the PowerPoint, or reuse the example image with a credit to genogramai.com.

When to use a adoption and foster care genogram template

Use this template whenever a child has more than one family: adoption (open, closed or international), foster care, or a step-parent adoption. It shows the adoptive parents with three kinds of child line side by side and keeps the adopted child’s birth parents on the chart, linked by a birth-parent line. Adoption-competent therapists draw both families because questions of identity, belonging and contact sit between them.

Foster carers and supervising social workers use the same layout to show a foster child in the household alongside the carers’ own children, without implying a legal parent relationship. Write placement and adoption years next to the child lines; they explain a great deal about attachment and behaviour.

If the child lives with relatives under a kinship or guardianship arrangement and the case is open to children’s services, the Child Welfare Genogram Template adds a case header and placement details. For a household with two mothers or two fathers and a donor, use the Same-Sex Parents Genogram Template.

The blank template and a filled-in example

Left: the blank printable. Right: the same template filled in for a fictional family in GenogramAI.

Blank adoption and foster care genogram template: Adoptive parents with three child slots: a biological child, an adopted child and a foster child, each joined by its own child line; the adopted child’s birth parents linked by a birth-parent line; a dashed household boundary. A key with biological, adopted and foster child lines drawn as GenogramAI draws them. — Blank: Adoptive parents with three child slots: a biological child, an adopted child and a foster child, each joined by its own child line; the adopted child’s birth parents linked by a birth-parent line; a dashed household boundary. A key with biological, adopted and foster child lines drawn as GenogramAI draws them.

Adoption and Foster Care Genogram Template filled in: Open Adoption with Birth Family Contact drawn in GenogramAI with a genogram key — Filled in: The completed example is a fictional Jewish-American family, Rachel and Mark Feldman, who adopted two children: Jaylen (placed at birth in 2011 through an open adoption, whose birth mother Destiny and her family stay in contact) and Sofia (adopted from Colombia in 2016, birth parents unknown). It shows adoption years, birth-parent lines and both sets of adoptive grandparents. Read the full example

Open this example in GenogramAI to start from the finished layout: it copies into your account (the Free plan holds 2 genograms) and every person, line and condition stays editable.

How to fill in a adoption and foster care genogram template

1
Draw the adoptive or foster household
Place the parents or carers and add each child with the right line: solid for biological, solid-and-dashed for adopted, dotted for foster.
2
Add years
Write the birth year and the adoption or placement year for each child.
3
Add the birth family
Draw the adopted child’s birth parents as their own couple and link them with a birth-parent line. Use an unknown symbol where identity is not known.
4
Mark the household and contact
Enclose who lives together and note contact arrangements with the birth family.

Symbols this template uses

Drawn the way GenogramAI draws them. Every other symbol is in the genogram symbols guide and the genogram key.

Symbol	What it means
Solid child line	Biological child.
Solid and dashed line side by side	Adopted child, as GenogramAI draws it. Write the adoption year beside it.
Dotted child line	Foster child: a placement, not a legal parent relationship.
Birth-parent line	Links the adopted child to their birth mother and father, who are drawn as their own couple.
Dashed enclosure	Household boundary: who lives together now.
Square with a question mark	Unknown person, such as a birth father whose identity is not known.

Common mistakes to avoid

Leaving the birth parents off. Even when nothing is known, an empty or unknown symbol records that they exist.
Drawing a foster child with a biological line. A dotted line shows a placement; a solid line implies a parent relationship that does not exist.
Omitting the adoption or placement year, which tells you the child’s age when they joined the family.
Using language such as "real parents". Use birth parents and adoptive parents.

Who uses this template?

Adoption and foster care social workers, adoption-competent therapists, foster carers and their supervising workers, and adoptive families preparing life-story work.

Common uses

Adoption home studies and post-adoption support
Foster care placement planning and reviews
Open adoption contact planning
Life-story work with adopted and fostered children
Therapy on identity and belonging in adoptive families

What the template covers

Adoptive parents with biological, adopted and foster child slots
Birth-parent couple linked to the adopted child
Dashed household boundary
Key with the three child lines
Editable PowerPoint and SVG versions

What is free?

Free and paid, plainly

All five files on this page (blank PDF, PowerPoint, SVG, example PDF and PNG) are free to download and use, with no sign-up. In GenogramAI, the Free plan includes 2 genograms, 5 AI credits a month, all 64 relationship types, medical shading and PNG export, with no card. PDF, SVG and GEDCOM export, file import and photo import are on paid plans; Professional is $12/month.

Frequently asked questions

How is adoption shown on a genogram?

With a different child line from the biological one. GenogramAI draws an adopted child as a solid line with a dashed line beside it, and records the adoption year. The birth parents are shown as their own couple, linked to the child.

How do you show a foster child?

With a dotted line from the foster carers to the child, plus the placement year. The child’s birth family can be drawn elsewhere on the page, so both are visible.

Should birth parents be on an adoption genogram?

Yes, in most clinical and social work uses. They are part of the child’s history and identity, even when contact is limited or their identity is unknown.

How do you show an international adoption?

Add the child’s country of birth beside their symbol (GenogramAI can show a flag) and the adoption year. If the birth parents are unknown, draw unknown symbols so the gap is recorded.