“Hello, I have exciting news! Families For Children have launched a new project ‘Family for ’,which aims to find families for children who arewaiting the longest to be placed for adoption”.
The Adoption Process
As a project run by Families for Children, you will need to be assessed in the same way as any adopter would need to be before having a Familiy for Me child placed with you.
The slight difference when choosing a Family for me child is that all the way through your assessment you will focus on the appropriate points relevant to the needs of this specific child or children.
We have to make sure that you are the right family to take a specific child, so you will be subject to the same checks, references and assessment process as any other adopters.
If we feel that for some reason you would not be able to move through the process, we will ensure that you know why. The assessment process should take around 6 months.
Once you are approved, you will not be family finding in the usual way as you will have already talked about and been linked to the child you want to adopt however, you will still go through the matching and introductions process. Please see below for more details
For more details on the adoption process you can also download our information pack.
We hold monthly Information Sessions when you have the opportunity to meet with one of our Social Workers and an experienced adopter.
The Two Stages to Adoption
When your Registration of Interest is accepted a social worker will be allocated to you. There is a 2 month period during which:
• References and checks are taken up by the Agency.
• You attend a three day training course.
• You provide some written information and undertake learning about adoption.
At the end of Stage 1 your social worker will visit you to review your assessment so far. With the Agency’s agreement you can then proceed to Stage 2. You can choose to delay moving to Stage 2 for up to 6 months.
If we are unable to support you moving into Stage 2 we will give you clear written reasons.
Social Worker led
Stage 2 is the more intensive part of the assessment, which will normally be completed in 4 months. Your social worker will make an agreement with you with dates for home visits and mutual expectations. During Stage 2 as part of your assessment you will receive further training.
When the assessment is complete your Social Worker will prepare your Prospective Adopters Report (PAR). This report will be shared with you and you can add your comments prior to attending Panel with your social worker.
Panel
The Adoption Panel will consider the report and will raise any questions with your social worker before they make a recommendation. You will be invited to attend the Panel and contribute to part of the discussion.
The Adoption Panel recommends whether to approve you to adopt. The Agency Decision Maker will decide whether to formally approve you as Adoptive Parent(s) within a week of the Panel’s recommendation.
Matching you with your child
Towards the end of the assessment, the family finding process starts and we will work closely with you to achieve the best outcomes for you all as a family. During the matching process we ensure that you have all the information that you need about the child or sibling group. You will attend the Local Authority Matching Panel for the match to be approved.
Once the match is approved there are gradual introductions to your child which often take 10 days - 2 weeks. This leads to the child being placed with you – your new family life begins!
You share the Parental Responsibility with the Local Authority until the Adoption Order is made, usually within a few months when your child has settled with you.
Adoption
Once a child is settled you will apply to the Court to obtain an Adoption Order. There may often be an agreement to send regular updates about the child to the birth family, confidentially, via the child’s Local Authority. Information may be sent by the birth family in return, again via the Local Authority. On-going advice and support will be available at any time in the future.
Birth family contact is usually indirect via regular updates unless the Court has made specific arrangements for more direct contact for example, where siblings are placed separately.