Assessments will be undertaken of anyone who deems themselves capable of looking after the child or children, if theses assessments are not viable options, Children’s Services are given powers by the court to ensure the child is cared for safely. This often means the child is placed with foster families.

Assessments will be undertaken with birth families to help understand their capacity to parent their child. If it is decided that the parents or extended birth family are unable to care for the child, the child’s plan will become one of adoption.

This plan will be presented to court and if the court agrees they will make a placement order.

The adoption agency will identify a family who they believe can meet all the child’s needs throughout their life.

We quickly learnt that whilst there is a set process and guidelines on timings, everyone’s journey is different. A key piece of advice is to be patient. The other thing we learnt was how it is all about your resilience during the process but also for life going forward when your little one comes to live with you. You need to always be open and honest. If you have concerns or worries it is always best to speak about them at the time.

Laura
Adopter