August 2019 in England - Fostering and Adoption

Hello lovely readers,

this was my second week at Sovereign House. The Sovereign House is located in the New Walk Area in Leicester, where the Fostering and Adoption Team is placed.

Today i will tell you everything about Adoption (What it is, What it means, who can addopt and which children need to be adopted) and how adoption is different from fostering. This is one of my favourite topics while i'm in the work placement / internship.

So, let's start :-)

What is Adoption?

Adoption means belonging to and growing up with a new family when you cannot live with the family you were born into. To be adopted is a really special thing. The child will hopefully have the best time of his/her life with his/her new parents. If there are other children in that family, they become your brothers and sisters. All children need to grow up in a family with a parent or parents who love them and look after them as they are growing up. They will always be a family together! If your birth family cannot look after you, a social worker will talk with you about where you might live instead and will arrange for you to be safe and well looked after. -> Finding an adoptive family
If it is decided that adoption might be best for you, your social worker will talk to you about it. He or she will find out what kind of family you would like to live with, and also what kind of family you will need that can best look after you. Then the social worker will start looking for a family for you.

What is a social worker?

A social worker is someone who tries to help children and their families when they have serious problems. They also find new parents for children who need them.

Who can adopt?

• Single People
• Married Couples
• Same sex couples
• People over the age of 21 years and in good health
• People who have already adopted
• People who have children of their own
• People living with someone in a stable relationship

Which children need to be adopted?

• Most of the children we place are between one and seven years of age and the majority are pre-school children
• Brothers and Sisters who need to stay together
• Disabled children
• Children from different ethnic origins and mixed heritages
• Children who a court has decided can no longer live with their birth families

How will they find the right family?
There are some families waiting to adopt a child or young person. Some of them may have adopted before and have their own birth children. Adoption agencies sometimes have families that live in his/her area. They can also find out about other families in other parts of the country, one of which may be just the right family for him/her. The social worker will do his/her best to find a family for him/her who will make sure they look after you, help you with things he/she finds difficult and understand what's important to the child.

The social worker will contact adoption agencies and start getting information on families waiting to adopt. They might also think of putting some information about the child in special magazines, papers or websited that are sent to families thinking about adoption. The social worker will go and meet different families to find out about them.

How is adoption different from fostering?

If the parents of a child cannot look after him/her, he/she is probably living with a foster family until an adoptive family can be found for his/her. Foster families usually look after children until they can go back home or move to a new adoptive family. They sometimes keep in touch with their foster children, even when they move on to new families. Fostering is about more than providing meals and a place to sleep. Foster carers work in partnership with everyone else connected to a child's life to keep children safe, healthy and happy. Foster carers are a stepping stone on a child's journey to a brighter future, heling them focus on school and make good relationships with others.

Types of fostering

• Which age-group?
  Some foster families only look after babies. Others feel better able to care to older children or teenagers.
• Girls or Boys?
  Most don't mind which, but sometimes only foster girls or foster boys.
• How many children?
  Sometimes one child at a time, others have time and space for two, three or more children who could be brothers and sisters who need a home togehter.
• Short-Term?
  A child can be with you for days, weeks or months
• Permanence?
  Permanent fostering is very similar to adoption. The main difference is the legal status of the child. 

Thanks for reading,
see you next Week!
Bye, Mel x