There are hundreds of children across the country who are waiting to be adopted at any time. In the 12 months to 31st March 2006 3,700 children were adopted across England and Wales.
We welcome applications for adoption from people from a wide variety of backgrounds. You can be single, married, divorced, living in your own home, in rented or Council accommodation. You do not need to own your own home but you would need enough space for a child or children and have at least one spare bedroom within your home.
We welcome applications from people from all races and religions. We do not discriminate on the grounds of sexuality.
There is no longer a requirement for you to be married in order to jointly adopt a child.
To adopt you must be 21 years of age or over. There is no upper age limit. The most important thing is that you are in good health and have the energy to care for a child to adulthood.
Your age would be linked to health, fitness and well being. You will need to consider your age in relation to the age of the child you would be looking to adopt. We welcome applications from experienced parents and if you already have a birth child, you are still entitled to adopt.
If you have a health problem we would need to be satisfied that you are able to take on the task of adopting a child. We also expect adopters to be able to care for a child through childhood and into adulthood. All applicants will be required to have a medical examination (the cost of this will be met by the applicant) and we will seek advice from our agency medical advisor.
Applications may be accepted from individuals who smoke. However, this is a factor that will be taken into consideration when placing a young child or a child who has respiratory problems.
Here is a step-by-step approach to applying to adopt a child.
- Express an interest
- The home visit
- The information meeting
- Preparation and training
- Police, health checks and other statutory references.
- Making an application
- Medical examination
- The assessment / home study report
- The adoption panel
- Matching you to a child
- Placement of the child
- The adoption order
Initially you need to be approved as a prospective adoptive parent, the timescales for this process are as follows:
- Written information sent in response to an enquiry.
within 5 working days
- Visit by a Social Worker or an invitation to an information meeting.
within 2 months
- Attend preparation groups / make formal application to adopt.
- Home Study assessment.
approximately 6 months
- Presentation to Adoption Panel.
Hence, on average it takes approximately 10-12 months from your initial enquiry to being approved as a prospective adoptive parent.
This may take longer as occasionally we need to prioritise applications, in order to meet the needs of the children waiting for adoption.
Once approved you will then need to wait to be matched with a child. This may happen very quickly or you may wait a number of months and there is no guarantee that you will be matched at all. It is dependant upon the children waiting and what you have to offer to an adopted child.
For more information, please see our "Adoption - Statement of Purpose" and our leaflet "Children's Guide to Adoption". |