The Process

Whichever way you choose to contact us, we will gather some initial information and send you an information pack. Following your receiving the information pack we will contact you within seven working days to explore any questions you might have. If you wish to proceed we will arrange a home visit to meet with you and your partner if it is a joint enquiry.

The Home Visit

This meeting is an opportunity for an exchange of information. We will answer any questions you might have about the process, and we will wish to learn about your individual circumstances, health, lifestyle and motivation to adopt. It is important for us to ensure you have the physical and emotional health, and energy to meet the demands of parenting an adopted child, and we will require you to be open about your health and wellbeing to help avoid any delay or disappointment further into the process.

Following this initial meeting we will need to ensure that this is the right time for you and your family and therefore a discussion will be had with the Adoption Team Manager on your suitability to progress to our Preparation to Adopt Group. If we think now is not the right time, then we will discuss this with you and provide advice and guidance where appropriate.

Preparation to Adopt

Following the initial interview the next stage in the process will require you, and your partner if applicable, to attend our four-day Preparation to Adopt Course. This course will provide you with up to date insight into the realities of adopting and what this will mean for you and your family. The Preparation to Adopt Course takes place during the working week and your attendance is mandatory. However, we will give you advance notice of course dates so that you can make the necessary arrangements.

The course involves sharing information about the circumstances of the children we serve, an overview of the process of adoption, as well as hearing from a range of professionals involved in adoption and permanence, and from foster carers and adopters with lived experience.

Following the Preparation to Adopt Course, the workers leading the course will provide feedback to you on your contribution and learning over the four days. The feedback discussion will inform your suitability to progress to an adoption assessment.

Prior to commencing the assessment you will be asked to complete an application form giving consent to our undertaking checks and contacting your referees.

The Assessment

An adoption assessment is a detailed exploration of your motivation to adopt, your commitment, and the skills and knowledge that you can offer as an adoptive parent. Your assessing worker will spend time reflecting with you on your own early experiences and how these have shaped your values, your relationships and your capacity to parent an adoptive child.

Your assessing social worker will undertake home visits and discussions with you and other members of your household, as well as any significant partners both past and present.

If you are a couple, your social worker will see you together and individually over the course of the assessment.

The Checks

PVG/Disclosure checks and a medical assessment are an integral part of the process. Appropriate references are also sought including ones from previous significant partners and your employer. If you have children within your household references will also be sought from nursery and or school.

Mandatory Training

During the assessment you will be expected to access a range of mandatory training courses which will help to prepare you for parenting a child who might have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse, abandonment and rejection. The training will also help you prepare for the future challenges, such as supporting your child’s development and helping them to make sense of their adoption and family history.

The Assessment Report

The assessment culminates in a Prospective Adopter Report – (PAR-Scotland). We aim to complete your assessment and share the report with you within six months of your assessment commencing. However, the assessment can sometimes take longer, for example, when new and previously undisclosed information comes to light or if you or your social worker’s circumstances or availability changes during that time.

Once the report is completed you will be invited to attend the Adoption and Permanence Panel, alongside your assessing social worker where your assessment report will be discussed. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your experience of the process and your learning, as well as ask any questions you might have for the panel.

The panel will make a recommendation which will be passed to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM). The Agency Decision Maker will consider the panel’s recommendation usually within three to four weeks or the panel meeting. The ADM will then write to you confirming their decision as to whether they agree with the panel’s recommendation.

Once you are approved

We aim to provide continuity for you so wherever possible your assessing social worker will continue to support you for the remainder of your adoption journey. This will include supporting you becoming familiar with the family finding process, identify suitable training opportunities, resources and support from within our adoption community. You will also be invited to attend a range of events where you can meet other adopters.

Matching you with a child

The adoption team has the responsibility of finding families for the children of Aberdeen City as well as for the prospective adopters we approve. We are continually made aware of the children who are likely to have an adoption plan and look to identify potential matches with prospective adopters from the earliest point.

The matching process is designed to give you as much information as is available about the child to inform how we can proceed. It is also an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of the child and their needs, which helps us assess if you are the right family for the child.

Once a match between you and a child has been identified, the match will need to be formally considered by the Adoption and Permanence Panel and as with your approval, the panel’s recommendation on the match will need to be agreed by the Agency Decision Maker.

Following the match being agreed by the ADM, our expectation is that you continue to keep your social worker and the Service updated of any changes in your circumstances that might affect the suitability of the match, impact the transition plan, or that might highlight any new support needs.

Planning the child’s transition to your care

We keep the child at the centre of our thinking and doing, and so the child’s needs will be the priority when planning the transition. That being said, the plan also has to take into account your support needs, as we appreciate the most successful transitions take account of everyone’s needs.

Maintaining Links

We value highly, the care, love and support provided by our foster carers to our children, and so we aim to promote our children maintaining links with their foster families. This can be achieved in many different ways, but it is important to recognise how maintaining such links can help a child know about their early experiences as well as promote their sense of identity and feeling valued as they grow.

We also aim to keep links with you and as an approved adopter you will become part of our adoption community, where you will be invited to family events, support groups, training and kept up to date with what’s happening in our Service via our quarterly newsletter.