Parents who adopt foster children set for financial boost in New South Wales.

Foster carers could receive financial incentives of almost $40,000 a year to adopt the children they are looking after under changes being introduced by the New South Wales Government.

There are almost 18,000 children in out-of-home-care — either with foster carers or in group homes — but last year, only 68 were adopted.

From July, foster carers could receive an annual payment of $25,000 if they have children up to four years old, or $37,000 if they look after older teenagers.

To be eligible, the carers must be qualify for the Family Tax Benefit (Part A) — a Federal Government payment that helps with the costs of raising children.

“We have too many children in out of home care in NSW,” the Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

“Where it’s not possible to reunite children and their parents, we rely on these great people to come forward and take care of children.”

‘Homes are often an embarrassment’

Minister for Family and Community Services Pru Goward said she wanted children to spend no more than two years in out-of-home care, before being adopted.

On Monday, the ABC’s Four Corners aired examples of sexual and physical assaults on disabled people in some group homes.

“That’s being looked at by Minister [Leslie] Williams because that’s an issue that applies to disability services,” Ms Goward said.

“In NSW we have residential homes for children who can’t go into a foster home because of the terrible trauma they have suffered.

“Frankly these homes are often an embarrassment.”

Five homes in four years

The Minister said the Government was raising the bar for organisations that run residential homes.

From July, they must prove they have an intense therapeutic model for all children in their care.

Sarah and James Wright from Terrigal adopted brothers Josiah and Kalev after four years of being their foster carers and described today's announcement as fantastic.

"There was a lot of uncertainty in the early days when it was going through the courts and until we got those final orders, I don't think we could really relax," Ms Wright said.

"My eldest son had been to five homes at the age of three-and-a-half.

"Every night he would say to me 'Mummy are they going to take me?'"

This post originally appeared on ABC News.