adoption advice please

Hi all,

Not sure on which forum to write on, but my husband and i are interested in adoption. We have been to the initial meeting and have had our first home visit with meeting. Has anyone else been through this? I have trawled through the internet looking for advice. I suppose what i really want to know is if we are both suitable. There dont seem to be any difinitive answers on the internet. Please answer if you have been through the process, particularly recently, or you are adopted yourself.

Thanks Jea

Well I have adopted four children, I have seen that you have been trying to conceive, this can delay your suitability, not stop it. Generally most adoption agencies require at least a years wait after you have stopped TTC before you will be fully approved, but this depends on what you want, if you wish to adopt an older child (normally 6+) they are more likely to relax this rule. Any adopted children are supposed to be at least two years younger than any other children in the house, but they often relax this to 18 months.

No one within the household can have any past offenses against someone under 18 and no one in the family must have committed any crime in the past two years.

Your social worker has to meet every member of your immediate family, which for us meant my brother traveling all the way from Italy, then my partners mother hates him, so that was interesting to say the least. Then they need to know about every past relationship, why it ended etc and they may also need to talk to ex partners, they are pretty much guaranteed to talk to an ex wife/husband or the parent of any of your children if you are no longer together.

You need referrees as well, one can be a family member, the other a friend/colleague, but you must have known them for at two years.

You have to have a full medical, so if you or your partner have a condition that can shorten your life significantly, then you would not be approved, as you have to be healthy enough to care for the child/ren until they are 20. So, certain disabilities could also rule you out.

They are the most important things in approval, however 94% of people are approved, it shouldn't take more than 8 months to get your final decision.

Also, you both need a full driving license and at least one vehicle that is suitable for children.

I don't have any advice I'm afraid, but found this an interested thread. It's great that the process is so thorough but I can imagine it can seem a long time if you are going through the process. Good luck with everything.
Camilla

Thanks for advice, most makes sense, but is it true that we both need to be able to drive? I dont drive and im too nervous to do it, although i have had lessons, which confirmed this! Thats a bit of a crazy rule if its so!

jea said:
Thanks for advice, most makes sense, but is it true that we both need to be able to drive? I dont drive and im too nervous to do it, although i have had lessons, which confirmed this! Thats a bit of a crazy rule if its so!

Yes, you must both have a full driving license (it doesn't matter if you have a few points) so if need be you can get them where they need to be in an emergency, it is also to ensure that they are traveling safely, as opposed to in a taxi or a bus where they would not be suitably restrained.

I think there's a law who can capable for adoption. If you are capable to adopt a child so you don't have any problem. You can do that as easy as you can.