DH and I are doing adoption THROUGH foster care. Foster care is where you take children in to your home and care for them while their parents are unable to. The first goal is to reunify the children with their parents but when that can't be done for various different reason the child is then able to be adopted. Adoption is where you strictly adopt a child without risk of that child going back to the bio parents. Adoption is incredibly expensive unless you go through the state which can be done. I don't know where you are from but in Missouri you have to take STARS classes which are for foster care. If you want to adopt you have to take STARS followed by Spaulding classes to become licensed to adopt.
You can adopt only but if you want to adopt a healthy baby chances are you may have to wait for a while. (or at least that's what they told us in foster class)
By doing adoption through foster care DH and I are going to accept a baby into our home, hoping to adopt but with the risk and understanding that that baby may go back to the bio parents. Eventually we will find a child that won't return to the bio parents and will adopt!

I agree that he cost is little compared to a regular adoption. There is also an adoption subsidy that you can receive to help with the adoption costs. Many attorney's accept this stipend from the state for their services.

The other comment I wanted to make is that a person has to understand before ever considering to adopt through the state is that there is almost always a possibility that the child could return to the parents, even if you are told that he/she will not. Things change rapidly sometimes through no ones fault. You have to be emotionally prepared to accept that possibility.

Also, it is good to understand that children who are in the DSS system are there for a reason, and that the child may have behaviors that you are not familiar with or that you wont condone in your home. This is another challenge that may be met.

You will get all of this in the STARS and Spalding training.

Just be fully prepared. I wish you the best.

Thank you both for the information; I greatly appreciate your honest and candid responses. I live in Illinois but I'm not sure what the laws are yet. Would either of you know the first step? Should I contact DSS first and go from there?

Having been a foster child for over 10 years, when I was much younger, my advice to you is to adopt. It will allow the child to KNOW they are wanted and they he/she is not just in it for trial run or as a source of money for the foster parents.