St Andrew's Children's Society - Adoption and Fostering Agency. Adoption Page




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	What is Adoption?
		Adoption allows children who cannot live with their birth families to be brought up in a loving and secure family environment. Adoption is rightly about focusing on the needs of children but it is recognised that it also meets important needs for adults who wish to become parents to a child through adoption. The children that we place come from very varied backgrounds and have had many different kinds of family experiences so we need to recruit adopters from all walks of life who have a range of skills and strengths.

		Here are answers to a few questions you may be thinking about. (Click on the question to see the answer. Please ring or email if you have others.)
		Will my age be a factor? What about religious beliefs? What about my racial heritage? Do I need previous parenting experience? Possible reasons why we might think adoption would not be right for you. What is the Process to be approved as an adopter?
	Examples of children we need to finds new adoptive homes for:
		Kevin is 6yrs and his little sister is 2yrs. They have been in foster care for 18 months and because they parents take drugs and are not able to put their children’s needs before their own it has been decided that they cannot live together and that they need a new adoptive home. Jodie is 3 years old and she was removed from her birth mothers care as soon as she was born because her mother has moderate learning difficulties and cannot adequately meet her children’s needs. Jodie need adoptive parents but she has three older siblings who have been adopted by other families and it is envisaged that she will have some contact with them as she grows up.
	What kinds Of People Are We Looking For?
		Will my age be a factor?	Up
		We are open to considering couples and single people aged 21 and over. We do not have an upper age limit but it must be clearly demonstrated that the applicant has the space, energy and good health to meet the needs of children. It is likely that older applicants would be considered primarily for older children.
		What About Religious beliefs?	Up
		Since we have links with the Roman Catholic community we are looking for Roman Catholic couples and single people for children of a Roman Catholic heritage. We are also looking to consider couples and single people of all religious denominations for children of any religious heritage. We also consider enquiries from Couples and single people of no religious persuasion for children where religion is not a matching consideration.
		What about my racial heritage?	Up
		We welcome enquiries from white couples and single people for children from a white racial and cultural background. We welcome enquiries from black, chinese and asian couples and single people for children from black, chinese and asian racial and cultural backgrounds. There maybe occasions when a trans-racial placement may be considered if it is thought to be in the best interests of a particular child, but this would be at variance with the normal protocol of same race placements and would therefore need to be well justified.
	Do I need previous parenting experience?		Up
		We place children with couples and single people who have never cared for a child. We place children with couples and single people who have children of their own at home. We place children with couples and single people who have grown up children away from home.
	Reasons why we might think adoption would not be right for you.		Up
		You have a criminal conviction of a violent or sexual nature, especially if the offence was committed against a child. You or someone else in the household has a serious, life-threatening illness. You do not have suitable accommodation that would allow you to care for a child appropriately. Your lifestyle is such that it would impede you ability to care appropriately for a child, e.g. your employment or hobby means that you spent a lot of time away from home You are going through or are about to go through a course of infertility investigations or treatment.
	What is the Process to be approved as an adopter?		Up
		Making an initial enquiry Firstly you can make an initial enquiry to us by phone, letter E-mail or in person. We will then send you out some information about what we do and an initial enquiry form for you to return to us. When you return this form we arrange for a social worker to visit you to discuss your interest in adoption in more depth. Preparation Groups If you want to take your interest further we would then invite you to attend a 6 session preparation group programme that is designed to help you decide if adoption is right for you and your family. Once the preparation groups are finished you can formally apply to be considered as an adoptive parent and you would be allocated a social worker to carry out your homestudy. The Homestudy The information for homestudy is gathered during a series of interviews carried out over a period of time (typically between 3 and 6 months) with you in your home. The document that is produced should offer an accurate picture of you and everything that is written about you is open for you to see and agree with. The Adoption Panel Once the homestudy is completed it is circulated to the Adoption Panel and you are invited to attend on the day your approval is considered. The panel is made up of people who have an interest or involvement in adoption and they make a recommendation regarding your suitability to adopt. Looking For A child Once the final decision on your approval has been made we can then start looking for the right child or children for you. We place children from all over Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. (This process will be explained to you step by step so that you are prepared at every stage in order that you should know what to expect.)	Up