Adoption in the UK
June 25, 2013 10:40 AM Subscribe
My partner and I would like to adopt, one day. We haven't figured out when yet but... should we? How long does it take, or what is the likely range of time, from the point at which you fill out the first form from the day you have a new member of the family under your roof?
We both know we want to adopt one day, but at this stage it could be anything from 2-5 years away. The thing is, I don't know what to expect about when we should start looking into it. I don't want to leave it too late and go through years of waiting agonisingly when we could have gotten started sooner. But I don't want to waste anyone's time by going through it all before we're ready to go.
I know some of it depends on your location and the local authority. But adoptive parents in the UK - can you give me an idea of what to expect?
We both know we want to adopt one day, but at this stage it could be anything from 2-5 years away. The thing is, I don't know what to expect about when we should start looking into it. I don't want to leave it too late and go through years of waiting agonisingly when we could have gotten started sooner. But I don't want to waste anyone's time by going through it all before we're ready to go.
I know some of it depends on your location and the local authority. But adoptive parents in the UK - can you give me an idea of what to expect?
Timescales to approve adopters are not great nationally. The government is pushing authorities to approve faster, as well as to make decisions earlier that adoption is the best plan for the child, to get placement orders (court authority to place a child for adoption) earlier, to link children to prospective adopters earlier and actually to place children for adoption earlier in their lives.
Here's a report on timescales and experiences of applying to adopt: Waiting to be parents: adopters’ experiences of being recruited. It's from 2010, but I don't think timescales have yet changed much.
LAs and voluntary adoption agencies report their data on timescales, among other things, to Ofsted, and these data are publically available: Adoption quality assurance and data forms 2011-12 first statistical release. You will see that the figures say that for LAs 1,432 applications to adopt were decided (approved or rejected) within 8 months of application, of a total 2,654. They don't publish data on how long the rest took. "Applications to adopt" are not the same thing as initial enquiries - this refers to formal application to adopt, the start of the full assessment process. The figures for time for a child to be placed following approval are also given. 18% of adopters waited less than 2 months, 36% waited at least 2 but less than 7 months, 20% waited at least 7 but less than 11 months and 26% waited 11 months or longer.
Timescales to approve adopters will be affected by things that come up in the process. You will need medicals - is there anything that could delay approval or make it less likely? Smoking is almost always a no for adopting under fives (forgive me if you know any of this already). Obesity can be a concern. What are your finances like? Will anything come up on your CRB checks that might need to be discussed? Who will your referees be? I have seen approvals delayed where there are difficulties getting in touch with significant people from the prospective adopters' pasts (ex-spouses primarily). Have you experience with children? Again, where prospective adopters haven't spent a lot of time with children, this can delay their application whilst they get some experience. Another factor can be the prospective adopters' knowledge of adoption. The social worker will explore with you what you know about the backgrounds of children who may be placed for adoption (foetal alcohol syndrome, long-term neglect and abuse, attachment disorders, for instance).
In general I would say it's always worth approaching your LA (if that's how you are planning to be assessed) sooner rather than later. Initial enquiries don't commit you to anything and can give you a sense of likely issues and timescales. Some LAs may turn people down immediately because of things that will change over time (eg some LAs don't accept applications from people whose own children are aged under 5, though inflexibility like this should be becoming less rare).
Timescales can also be affected by what's going on in the LA you approach - if there's a shortage of SWs in the adoption team, for instance, that can slow things down. No reason why you can't ask about expected timescales, and even for their performance data on timescales (though the latter does have the potential to get you labelled as pushy, not always a bad thing).
There's also lots you can do to prepare yourself before approaching the LA, if you'd rather leave that for a bit. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering is a great resource and you should definitely read some of the books it has published for prospective adopters. Your local library may have them. I don't know so much about Adoption UK but it also looks like a really good starting place.
All this assumes you are looking to adopt domestically and not from another country - I don't know much about inter-country adoption.
posted by sock of ages at 1:21 PM on June 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Here's a report on timescales and experiences of applying to adopt: Waiting to be parents: adopters’ experiences of being recruited. It's from 2010, but I don't think timescales have yet changed much.
LAs and voluntary adoption agencies report their data on timescales, among other things, to Ofsted, and these data are publically available: Adoption quality assurance and data forms 2011-12 first statistical release. You will see that the figures say that for LAs 1,432 applications to adopt were decided (approved or rejected) within 8 months of application, of a total 2,654. They don't publish data on how long the rest took. "Applications to adopt" are not the same thing as initial enquiries - this refers to formal application to adopt, the start of the full assessment process. The figures for time for a child to be placed following approval are also given. 18% of adopters waited less than 2 months, 36% waited at least 2 but less than 7 months, 20% waited at least 7 but less than 11 months and 26% waited 11 months or longer.
Timescales to approve adopters will be affected by things that come up in the process. You will need medicals - is there anything that could delay approval or make it less likely? Smoking is almost always a no for adopting under fives (forgive me if you know any of this already). Obesity can be a concern. What are your finances like? Will anything come up on your CRB checks that might need to be discussed? Who will your referees be? I have seen approvals delayed where there are difficulties getting in touch with significant people from the prospective adopters' pasts (ex-spouses primarily). Have you experience with children? Again, where prospective adopters haven't spent a lot of time with children, this can delay their application whilst they get some experience. Another factor can be the prospective adopters' knowledge of adoption. The social worker will explore with you what you know about the backgrounds of children who may be placed for adoption (foetal alcohol syndrome, long-term neglect and abuse, attachment disorders, for instance).
In general I would say it's always worth approaching your LA (if that's how you are planning to be assessed) sooner rather than later. Initial enquiries don't commit you to anything and can give you a sense of likely issues and timescales. Some LAs may turn people down immediately because of things that will change over time (eg some LAs don't accept applications from people whose own children are aged under 5, though inflexibility like this should be becoming less rare).
Timescales can also be affected by what's going on in the LA you approach - if there's a shortage of SWs in the adoption team, for instance, that can slow things down. No reason why you can't ask about expected timescales, and even for their performance data on timescales (though the latter does have the potential to get you labelled as pushy, not always a bad thing).
There's also lots you can do to prepare yourself before approaching the LA, if you'd rather leave that for a bit. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering is a great resource and you should definitely read some of the books it has published for prospective adopters. Your local library may have them. I don't know so much about Adoption UK but it also looks like a really good starting place.
All this assumes you are looking to adopt domestically and not from another country - I don't know much about inter-country adoption.
posted by sock of ages at 1:21 PM on June 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
It's also more than OK to be offered a placement, or at least the chance to put your hat in the ring for one, and decline. It doesn't make you a horrible person and won't exclude you from being offered another placement when it becomes available.
But I don't want to waste anyone's time by going through it all before we're ready to go.
You may not know you are "ready" until you've been through the process. It forces you to do some deep introspection, from which you'll usually come out saying "Yes, I am in fact ready to do this." So it's definitely not wasting anyone's time.
posted by trivia genius at 11:35 AM on June 25, 2013