First steps to adoption

Adopters visit their child in their foster home and take them out. Then the child might come to tea and leave a possession in their new home. They stay for the weekend once or twice. The process is limited legally to thirteen weeks. ‘Longer than that and the child can get overtired and overwrought,’ says Jeanne.

After the adoption has gone through, social services continue to provide support. Disbelief that this is for real can lead children to test the boundaries for long periods. They often find it hard to trust their new ‘forever’ family. In spite of this, Jeanne says that the majority of adopted children really value being cherished. The positive side of adoption is that whatever the age of the child when they join their new family, the stability of a loving, permanent home will certainly enhance their chances in the future. And that’s what adoption is all about – putting the needs of the child first.

For more information contact:
BAAF (British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering) 020 7593 2000 www.baaf.org.uk

‘Be My Parent’, a BAAF publication which aims to find new parents for children, has recently gone monthly with the aim of speeding up referrals. The Focus of Fives section gives details of children under five, and readers interested in any of the children can phone the office for details of his or her social worker.
Adoption UK
01295 660121www.adoptionUK.org.uk