Information about Adoption
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Adoption is a process by which children gain new legal parents and become full members of a new family.
An adoption order is not time limited and once made cannot be revoked. The child becomes a permanent member of the new family.
Most children placed for adoption these days, however, will have some memories of their original birth family, who may or may not continue to play some part in the child’s life.
Age and ill health or disability are not necessarily constraints to becoming adopters and we would not automatically discount you on these grounds. You do not have to be married to become adopters and can be single, divorced, in a hetrosexual relationship or same sex relationship.
For those considering adoption, some areas to consider are:
What is the process after my enquiry?
The process of assessing people as prospective adopters is lengthy and intrusive by nature as we need to know a great deal about you and how your life experiences have shaped you as an adult. We will ask you about theimportant relationships in your life, both past and present, and will want to understand about your support networks and how you deal with the stresses and challenges of everyday life.
We will support you throughout the assessment process and most importantly work with you to a point of agreement about your strengths and capacity to meet the needs of children through adoptive parenting.
Support for BME Families (Khandan Project)
It is important to find adoptive families to meet the needs of a diverse range of children and in doing so we welcome applicants from all ethnic groups. To support us to do this well we have a partnership in working with a group of social workers, IKL Social Care, experienced in working within adoption with Black Minority Ethnic families.
Are you from a Black Minority Ethnic background wanting to adopt a child from a similar background as yourself?
Would you be able to promote the cultural and religious needs of black minority ethnic children needing a loving and caring permanent family?
If so contact the DFW Adoption Khandan Project
Preparation Groups
Fairly early on in an applicant’s journey together with DFW Adoption in the adoption process, and following an initial Information Day, we will invite the applicants to join together in the preparation groups over four days, and one or two evenings to discuss some of the core issues around the challenges of adoption. The preparation groups form the initial stages of the assessment process and at a future point you will be asked to make written comments about the benefits of the course and your learning. We will discuss the child’s journey from their family of birth through the care system and eventually to their adoptive family.
Preparing Children of the family for Adoption (PCFA)
The PCFA service has been developed to offer a separate Children’s worker to meet with children already in a family where the parents are considering adopting another child. The purpose of the service is to help the child think about and prepare for another child joining their family, and to be able to talk about this in private with their own worker. It’s not only the parents who adopt a child – it is the whole family.
Who are the Children?
There are more than 4,000 children nationally in need of adoptive parents. We will find the right children for you, either in the north east region or nationally. The children who wait the longest are older children above 4 years of age and the children who need to be in a family with their brothers and sisters. Read more about the children who are happy and secure with our adoptive parents.
To talk through any questions you might have feel free to call us on 0191 386 3719 (Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am – 4pm) or email us on Turn on JavaScript to view e-mail addresses!
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