You have to be well-off to adopt Expand Adoption is about providing a loving home and protecting children from ongoing serious harm. It is not a question of class or income. Adoptive parents come from a range of backgrounds, as do the children waiting for a home. Being on a low income or benefits, renting your home or having a disability doesn’t stand in the way of adopting a child. Suitability for being an adopter is based on a number of factors, the most important of which is that you have the commitment, warmth, energy and flexibility to meet a child’s emotional and physical needs as they grow up. You need to be able to give your adopted child plenty of time and attention, too, which may mean work has to change. This could have financial implications. Your adoption agency will provide advice on this, but having a low income is in no way a barrier to being an adoptive parent. Adoption agencies don’t charge to assess or approve adopters. But there may be some additional costs such as GP charges for a medical certificate. This depends on the individual GP practice and you may be able to get costs covered by the local authority in some circumstances.
Why are there targets for adoption and what is the Adoption Scorecard? Expand The adoption targets and scorecards are for local authorities to stop children waiting so long to be adopted and being stuck in the care system. They do not incentivise an increase in adoption numbers. The aim is to improve local authority practice and reduce the time that children remain in care, once a court has decided that a child should be placed for adoption. Thousands of children who are unable to safely return to their families remain unadopted for too long. It’s not surprising that as children wait longer in care they become increasingly angry, confused and dejected – often resulting in challenging and difficult behaviour. These children need a special kind of adopter, which means they wait even longer until the right adopter can be found. That is why there is a great need for adopters with the energy and resilience to care for often challenging children.
Do social workers get a bonus each time they recommend a child is placed for adoption? Expand Absolutely not. Social workers don’t enter the profession to take children away from their families. They want to help and support families. For many, an adoption can feel like they’ve failed - they’ve been unable to find a safe solution that would mean a child can return to live with their family. Furthermore, social workers do not make the decision to place a child for adoption. They make recommendations based on assessments that will have been scrutinised and challenged by their managers, lawyers, Cafcass Guardians and ultimately by a Judge. Only a court has the power to grant placement orders, which allow children to be placed with adoptive parents, and adoption orders, which sever children's legal ties with their birth families and make their adoptive families their legal families.
Birth families can get a child back after the court has made an adoption order Expand This is not the case. Once a court has agreed that the child can be adopted by the approved adopters, an adoption order is made and birth parents can no longer challenge the adoption. The birth parents’ case will have been heard by the court during proceedings and will have been taken into account in the final judgement.
You have to wait longer to adopt a child through a VAA as they don’t have the children awaiting adoption Expand Not true! Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for looking after children awaiting adoption, but both local authorities and VAAs, as well as the new regional adoption agencies (RAAs), look for the right adoptive parents and work together to find the best potential adopters to meet the needs of the children waiting. Once you are approved as an adopter you will be able to access LinkMaker, a website which has the details of many of the children waiting for a home. Scotland and Wales also have Adoption Registers which list children and adopters waiting. Adopters who have very narrow criteria for the children they wish to adopt tend to wait the longest before finding the right match. Many of the children waiting for adoption have special placement needs (e.g. a disability or a need to be placed with their siblings), so if you are open to more children then you have a good chance of being matched more quickly.
Once we've adopted we'll be on our own. We won't get any help Expand You won’t be on your own. All adoption agencies offer ongoing support to their adoptive families. The services that are available do vary between agencies, however, so before registering with an agency we recommend doing your research and identifying what is important to you. You can look at different agency's websites and any online discussion forums, as well as asking the agency themselves what is on offer and how they will be able to support your family. The Government has set up an Adoption Support Fund (ASF) in England to pay for essential therapeutic support. Your local authority can apply to the fund on your behalf, and if you adopted through a VAA then they can support you to put in an application through your local authority. In addition, most agencies have adopter peer support groups where you can talk about common concerns as well as celebrate and have fun.
If we're approved to adopt, we won't have any say in the child(ren) we are matched with Expand This isn’t true! It essential that you and your child(ren) are the 'right fit' for one another. Once you are approved, your agency will work with you to identify children who may be a good fit. Your assessing social worker will send your profile to local authorities and regional adoption agencies; likewise, other agencies will start sending children's profiles to your social worker. You will probably look at a lot of children's profiles and it may feel a bit overwhelming - there are thousands of children waiting for an adoptive family, and you do not need to say 'yes' to the first child(ren) you see. Your agency will support you throughout the linking and matching process to ensure that you and your child(ren) are right for one another, and you will always have the final say.
We don’t have any experience of looking after children, so we can’t adopt Expand It is certainly helpful for prospective adopters to have some experience with children, particularly if you are going to adopt older children or siblings. However, a lack of experience won’t prevent you from beginning the adopter approval process. Some adoption agencies might suggest you do some voluntary work with a school or club to gain childcare experience and become more comfortable spending time with children you don't know well.
I’m too old to adopt a child Expand There is no upper age limit to adoption as long as you have the physical and mental energy to care for children. However, you do have to be at least 21 years of age in order to adopt.
I’m disabled/ have a long-term illness so I won’t be allowed to adopt a child Expand Having a disability or a long-term illness (e.g. HIV or diabetes) is not a barrier to adoption, provided you are able care for a child. Your adoption agency will consider your circumstances as part of the assessment process. Some people with disabilities have been provided with additional support to enable an adoption to go ahead.
I can’t adopt because I’m single/ a single man Expand You can absolutely adopt if you are single! Many single people, whatever their gender or sexual orientation, have successfully adopted children.
We can’t adopt as we’re not married Expand Not true! You can adopt a child regardless of your marital status – whether you’re single, unmarried, in a civil partnership or married.
I can’t adopt because I’m gay Expand Yes you can! You have a right to pursue adoption regardless of your sexual orientation and gender identity. More information on adoption agencies working with the LGBT+ community can be found here.
I’m unemployed, on benefits or have a low income, so I won’t be allowed to adopt Expand Being on a low income or benefits should not stop you applying to adopt a child. As part of the assessment process your adoption agency will consider first and foremost your ability to provide a loving and secure home for a child, which will include consideration of your financial circumstances and employment status.
I already have children, so I won’t be allowed to adopt Expand Having children will not exclude you from adopting. Your adoption agency will take the age and needs of your children into consideration as part of the adoption assessment to ensure your prospective adoptive child(ren) can settle in well as part of your family.
I can’t adopt a child from a different ethnic background Expand Not true. You can adopt a child from a different ethnic background as long as you can meet the child’s needs. Adoptive families can get support to help their adopted children understand their cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. You will also need to consider the impact on your adopted child of being different from other family members. Your adoption agency can help you think about how you will support your child to incorporate both their birth and adoptive heritages into their identity.
I can’t adopt as I have a criminal record Expand If you have a criminal record, your adoption agency will look into the specific circumstances very carefully. If you have a criminal caution or conviction for offences against children or sexual offences against adults, you will be ruled out. Other offences may not necessarily rule someone out, and your agency will consider your situation on an individual basis. It is important to be honest with your agency from day one so that they can appropriately advise and support you.
I can’t adopt a child because I smoke Expand Smoking will not necessarily rule you out. However, you do need to be fit and well in order to see your child(ren) through to adulthood, and your adoption agency will consider all health and lifestyle-related issues as part of your assessment. They need to be sure that there are not no specific health risks to you or to the children who may be placed in your care. Different agencies will have different policies on smoking, but it is unlikely that children under five and those with some medical conditions would be placed in smoking households.
I don’t own my own home, so I won’t be able to adopt a child Expand You don't have to own your own home to adopt a child. As long as you have the space (i.e. one spare room per child) and are not at risk of eviction, then renting will not preclude you from adopting. As part of the assessment process your agency will most likely ask for references from your landlord to ensure that you are able to provide a secure and stable home.