Thinking about adoption?According to government statistics, more than 60,000 children were in the care of local authorities in England and Wales in 2003. While many of these will return home within eight weeks, many will still be left requiring and deserving a loving family. We take a look at what adoption involves and the most common queries.
There are many different reasons why people adopt. Many adoptions in the UK are undertaken by step-parents, who want to prove their commitment as a parent to their partner's child or children. Other parents choose to adopt because they are unable to conceive children naturally as a couple. Some established families decide that they would like to adopt to offer a child in care a stable and loving home, as do non-parents. Gabriella Brooks, media manager for the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), said: 'Unfortunately, thousands of children in the UK are separated from their birth parents every year and many are never able to return to them. Adoption, however, can offer a real second chance to these children by providing a loving and permanent home so that they can thrive.' BAAF will be running its annual campaign, National Adoption Week, at the beginning of November (1-7 November) to encourage more people to come forward and adopt. To find out more, please visit www.nationaladoptionweek.org.uk. Who can I adopt?Children of all ages need a good home. Only a very small number are aged 12 months or under and there is a very long waiting list to adopt a baby. The criteria for people wanting to adopt very young babies tends to be strict - for example, agencies might only choose people who don't have any health problems and have a well established home and relationship. It is quite normal for people aged between 26-35 to be given preference, although there is no age limit on adults who want to adopt. The only thing they need to be able to show, with regard age, is the ability to look after a child until they become an adult. The average age of children in care is 4.5 years and, on average, it takes two years from being taken into care to being adopted. Some people worry about the potential problems of adopting an older child, eg that they won't fit in with their adoptive family very easily. While this may be the case, so much more depends on the individual child, the adoption agency workers and the adoptive family. Older children know about the process and want to be adopted and, therefore, are placed with new families with great success. When you think about it, older children need and deserve a family just as much as a newborn - all children need this. Are there any special requirements?There is no 'ideal' type of adopter. People who adopt come from different social, economic and racial backgrounds. However, you will have to meet certain strict criteria, which can vary according to each agency, especially when adopting babies or very young children. The following will not prevent you from adopting:
The following circumstances could affect your ability to adopt, if only in the short term.
The first step to take is to contact either your local authority's adoption team or an approved voluntary adoption agency. The British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) provides a search service to find your local agency. Visit http://www.baaf.org.uk/res/agencydb/index.shtml for further information. Adoption UK also provides information for potential adoptive parents, visit www.adoptionuk.org. How long will I have to wait?Adoption standards estimate the time it will take, from registering your initial phone call, to being approved, at eight months or less. The process of matching you to a child will start once you have been approved, and this can take anything from two weeks to a year or more, depending on the sort of child you are interested in or able to care for. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain Click here to read the moving story of one babyworld member's experience of adoption.
Page 1 of 2 >> Next |
