If you are interested in pursuing an adoption application, you may wish to attend one of our information sessions where you will have the opportunity of having a personal discussion with a family placement officer. Please contact us if you think that this might help you.
The Application Process
If, after initial discussions with a family placement officer, we believe you can offer what is needed and you wish to proceed, the next stages are for you to:
- Attend a number of preparatory training sessions.
- Receive several visits from a family placement officer to get to know you, gather factual information, gain a depth of knowledge about you and your family lifestyle, and ensure you fully understand the implications of adoption.
- Provide the names of two personal referees who know you well. They will be asked to complete a reference form and will be personally interviewed by the family placement officer.
- Agree to the agency taking up police checks and other checks.
- Agree to under-going a full medical examination (this is usually paid for by the agency).
Why Information is Needed
During the assessment process, it is necessary for us to collect a great deal of personal information about you. This may seem very intrusive, but the information is essential for the following reasons:
- The adoption panel uses the information to make a recommendation about your suitability to be adoptive parents, based on the fullest possible information.
- The information is used, following approval, to 'match' your family with a child needing a family.
- Once a child is placed, the information forms the basis of the report to the court which will hear the adoption application.
- We have responsibility for the care and safety of children we 'look after' and we have to ensure that prospective adopters are thoroughly checked and vetted for their suitability to take on this responsibility.
Special Options for Step-parents
It used to be common practice for step-parents to adopt the children from the previous marriage of their new spouse. More recently however, the courts and local authorities are actively discouraging this. This is to ensure that the links between a child and their divorced parents and family are respected and maintained.
For this reason, and a number of other important legal considerations relating to the child's continued well-being, a number of alternatives to adoption for step parents should be considered.
What Else You Should Consider
The following are additional points that you may find helpful:
- We aim to complete the approval process within six months from the receipt of your application.
- We will however prioritise applications in response to our local needs.
- After approval there is no guarantee of how soon a child will be placed. Sometimes a 'match' is made within a few weeks; often though it can take much longer to find the right family for a child.
- In Swindon there are usually about ten children up to the age of 11 awaiting an adoptive placement at any one time. Some of these will be groups of brothers and sisters needing to be placed together.
- For further information you may wish to refer to the following BAAF leaflets about adoption:
- 'Adoption - Some Questions Answered'
- 'Meeting Children's Needs Through Adoption and Fostering'
Further Information/Contact
Please contact us if you would like more information about the application and assessment process for adoption or if you need information about any particular publications.
Contact Family Placement Team
Who Can Offer Advice