Child Adoption

There are various ways to adopt a child in the UK - this involves getting the permission of parents/guardians or a court approval to permanently take on the care of a child. Usually prospective adopters will use a local authority or voluntary agency adoption process. Guidelines may vary across the country but in basic terms the actual process and ways that adoptive parents are approved remain the same.

The child adoption process

The first step in the adoption process is to register with an adoption agency. The agency will then assess your application and your circumstances to see if you are eligible to adopt under its rules and regulations. This can take some time (around 8 months at most).

During this period you will probably have to attend an information meeting and fill out an application. At this point the agency will check you out and take up your references. Checks here will probably include:

Health checks
Medical history checks
Police checks
Local authority checks
Referee checks

You will also probably have to go to specific adoption workshops to learn about parenting in general and the issues that come with parenting adopted children. A Home Study will also take place here where a social worker will visit you at home various times. All of the information gathered here will be given to you (in a Form F).

The next step is to go to a panel meeting where it will be decided if you will be approved to adopt. If you are not approved then you can appeal against the hearing via the IRM (Independent Review Mechanism). The matching process now begins which looks to match a child with adopters. When a suitable match is made you will need to hold discussions with your agency and then with the Adoption Panel which will approve or turn down the adoption.

Once approved measures will be taken to introduce the child to the adopters and after a specified residential period (at least 10 weeks) an adoption order can be applied for.

Adoption Issues

Nowadays adoption rules are more relaxed than they used to be and single parents and co-habiting and same sex couples can apply to adopt children. You have to be over 21 to apply to adopt in most cases and there is technically no upper age limit here although this will depend on the individuals involved.

You need to meet certain conditions to be able to adopt. For example, you must be able to support a child financially and to have enough room for them to live with you. You also need to be in good health - you may not, for example, be allowed to adopt young children if you smoke.