What does the adoption process look like?
The adoption process always starts with an initial enquiry. Most usually a telephone discussion. This helps give us an understanding of your expectations of the process and for us to answer any initial questions you might have.
Where appropriate, we will arrange a home visit. The purpose of a home visit is to explore whether adoption is right for you and your family. We’ll look carefully at your circumstances and experiences to see what you can offer a child as an adoptive parent.
You will be required to attend a four-day adoption preparation training course. The course gives you lots of information and insight into adoption and the opportunity to meet adopters and adoptees and hear about their experiences.
Following the preparation course the adoption team will be in touch within two weeks to discuss next steps. If you still wish to become an adopter and we agree it is appropriate for you to proceed, then you will be asked to complete an application form. We prioritise assessments based on the needs of children waiting for families. These include sibling groups, older children and children with additional needs
You will be allocated an assessing social worker who will make a number of visits to your home. They will ask you lots of questions about your life experiences. This will give us an understanding of your background and motivation as well as your ability to keep a child safe, help them thrive and commit to them for life. We will request references and undertake a number of checks. When adopting with us we will cover the costs related to the assessment process.
We ask that you are honest and open with us during your assessment. It’s important we have a clear picture of who you are, your life experiences and what you can bring to adoption. Throughout the assessment we need to ensure that you have come to terms with any previous adverse experiences, challenges and loss, because research tells us that adopted children benefit from being cared for by adults who have processed their own loss, adversity and change.
At the end of the assessment period a report called a PAR-S needs to be completed and the timeframe for this is usually four to six months. You will have the opportunity to read and comment on your report.
Your assessment report is presented to the Fostering and Adoption Panel and you will be asked to attend this alongside your assessing worker.
Following the Fostering and Adoption Panel meeting a recommendation is passed to the Agency Decision Maker, who must consider the Panel’s recommendation within 14 days and inform you in writing within seven days of their decision.
Following approval we begin the process of supporting you in your new role as adopters and family finding. From the outset we try to identify children within our own service who you may be a suitable match. Your social worker will approach you with initial details regarding the child and discuss with you. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you understand the child’s circumstances and how you might meet the child’s needs, and so what may be the strengths and vulnerabilities of a potential match.
If after three months a suitable match has not been identified, we would then add you to the Scottish Adoption Register. This is a confidential service which pulls together adopters and children throughout Scotland facilitating family finding on a nationwide basis. There is the opportunity for you to contribute to creating your profile with support from your social worker and be active in the process of family finding. Again it will be important for you to show how you may best meet the needs of any child.
If all parties believe that the match is positive then it will be heard at the Matching Panel. Dependent on the legal plan for the child, the process may then differ slightly. However, your social worker will keep you fully informed at this stage.
When a child comes to live with you, this will be on the legal basis of you as an approved foster carer with a view to adopt (known as Dual Approval).
Within this time period the child remains within the local authority ‘Looked After’ system which means you will be part of this process, whilst caring for the child in your home and forming early bonds. Legally a child cannot be adopted, until they have resided with you for 13 weeks. However, this may take significantly longer for a formal adoption to be secured.
A growing number of children who are placed for adoption maintain some form of contact with their birth family. This is often an annual letter exchange, sometimes with photographs.
Contact may also be ‘direct contact’ which means a child may continue to see their birth family after adoption. This remains an unusual arrangement and would be explored in full prior to matching.