Hello,
Is there anyone who can shed any light on adopting in the UK?
Has anyone ever managed to adopt a baby?
What happens to newborns put into care? Are they fostered before being adopted out?
Could I foster a newborn and then adopt it later on?
How long does the adoption process take?
If infertile, at what point in your infertility journey did you begin the process of adoption?
Has anyone adopted but continued to TTC?
Has anyone adopted because of infertility but then gone on to conceive?
Thanks in advance
xx
Hi, I am a Birth Mother, and was also adopted myself. Also, some friends of mine have recently adopted so I thought I'd answer to see if anything I say can help ...
To foster any child, whether a baby or not, you have to be approved to foster. There are some people who only foster babies, usually known as "baby carers". These foster carers are usually short term placements (up to 1 year) until the baby either goes home, to another relative or is adopted. To adopt a fostered baby can be difficult, because firstly you have to then be approved by the local authority and the matching panel, but also because
most babies in Care will have had contact with their Birth Parents and therefore will know who you are, and usually babies and children are adopted into another area from their Birth Parents, so the Birth Parents can't find them. However, babies that are placed into Care right from Birth, who definitely aren't going home usually go to Foster to Adopt placements. This is because of the baby making attachments to the Carer, and not then having to make new attachments to new parents. I think Foster to Adopt placements are assessed differently by social services, as once you've adopted the baby, you aren't allowed to foster again for another year or two, in order for you to get used to having the baby there.
The length of the adoption process is different for all cases, however babies are usually adopted quicker because of the importance of them making attachments to the Adoptive Parents. (Older children will have usually been in are a while, and if they've had difficult lives or have siblings it can be harder for a placement for them to be found - though not impossible! My siblings and I were adopted aged 2,3,4 and 6 and were in Care from babies). If the baby is having contact with their Birth Parents whilst they are in Care, the court proceedings can take up to a year, as the parents have to be fully assessed. For babies who are put into Care immediately after being born, who definitely aren't going home, the court proceedings are a lot shorter, as Adoptive Parents are usually found before the child is born. A baby has to live with you for at least 6 months before you can adopt them.
CareBear is right in saying that during the process you have to stop ttc and if you do conceive then the process is stopped, and you aren't allowed to adopt for another year.
Obviously to be an Adoptive Parent, you have to be assessed and approved by Social Services. This process takes a while (I'm not sure how long exactly) as you have to be assessed, as well as members of your family. You have to be able to prove that you can financially care for a child, and have a good support network. You also have to have medicals, and if you've ever had certain illnesses (such as cancer) then you have to have been well from it for a set length of time.
I hope any of this has helped you
Good luck!
