Adopting

What Happens Next

Information about Adoption in Solihull.

What Happens Next?

When you have read the information on this page, if you decide that you are still interested, please print and return the Adoption Form attached below.

We will contact you within two weeks to arrange for a social worker to come to see you at home. During the visit you will be able to ask questions and discuss your hopes and needs. The social worker will be able to identify any issues or concerns which may need clarifying before proceeding further.

Following this initial visit, unless there are any ongoing concerns or issues for discussion, you will be invited to attend preparation groups.

Before attending preparation groups you will be given an application pack to complete.

Application

When you make a formal application, you will be asked to give your agreement for statutory checks to be made on you and your household members. These checks are with Health, Probation, Local Government and the NSPCC. Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks are also made and these are required by law.

In order to protect children, you will be asked to give a complete picture of your employment history. Any work involving contact with children may require a reference being sought from your previous or present employer.

NB:

If we are told anything which suggests you may not be suitable to adopt a child, this will be discussed with you as soon as possible.

Taking Forward Your Application

When all the checks have been completed, the Adoption Agency has to decide whether to take up your application.

This decision will be based on:

• The extent to which you meet the minimum legal and agency criteria.
• The Agency's priority areas for recruitment.

At this stage any criminal convictions, serious health concerns, status issues (e.g. marriage/partnership; residence/domicile) will be explored. Any recent changes in your circumstances such as bereavement, fertility treatment, relationships, change of job, will be taken into consideration as will any factor which may seriously affect your capacity to prepare yourselves to become adoptive parents.

However, if a decision is made not to proceed, you will be informed of which criteria have not been met. You may wish to reapply if and when your circumstances change. You may be advised as to steps you could take to meet the criteria.

You may be advised to reapply when the agency will be recruiting for different priority areas. If you decide to reapply, the agency would not necessarily expect that you will need to go through the whole information giving process again. It may be possible to re-enter the process at the Application stage.

Preparation Groups

When the decision has been made to proceed you will be invited to preparation groups.

Preparation Groups are usually run in the Spring and Autumn and sometimes in July. You will be invited to the next available set of Groups. Your attendance may be before you begin the assessment process with your social worker or during that process.

The groups are run by social workers with the help of adoptive parents. The participants are all people who are interested in becoming adopters. There is usually a maximum of fourteen participants made up of couples and single people. This is an important part of the process and you will need to identify at an early stage if you have difficulty in attending.

During the groups you would be encouraged to explore the impact on you of becoming an adopting family. You would be given information about the kind of children you may adopt, their experiences and needs. You would be asked to consider how you would go about meeting their needs and helped to identify your own strengths.

The purpose of these groups is to ensure that you have all the information you need to decide whether or not you want to be a family by adoption. You will then be ready for further discussion with your social worker and can clarify the resource which you are offering. The home study/assessment will be prioritised depending on the needs of the children for whom we are currently family finding.

You will be allocated a social worker for the Assessment/Home Study.

Assessment and Panel

Your allocated social worker's role is to get to know you and your family, to have further discussions with you about adoption and to help you to identify the kind of child who would be best placed with you. The outcomes of these discussions will form the basis of the report which will be presented to the Adoption Panel.

You and your social worker will be sharing the responsibility for doing the ground work which will affect the future of, not only you and your family, but also a vulnerable child. For this reason, it is important that the process is not rushed and you are given the time you need to consider all the implications.

All members of your household will need to be consulted and interviewed. It is also important for any children, including adult children, to be seen. If you have a previous partner we will need to write to them to ensure that there is no reason why you should not be considered as an adoptive parent. We will discuss this with you before taking any action.

During the course of this assessment, you will need to have a medical examination - Solihull Healthcare pays for this. You will also be asked to give the names of two referees who are not related to you. These people will be asked for a written reference and will also be interviewed. It is important that you share your thinking on and understanding of adoption so they give a well-informed reference.

During the course of the assessment, your social worker will discuss with you which of your family members would be most appropriate to interview as a family reference.

We aim to complete the assessment and submit it to the Adoption Panel within 6 months but we are responsive to the individual needs of every applicant. When the Final Report is drafted, you will be given a copy and encouraged to add your comments. You will be invited to attend Panel.

Adoption Panel

The Final Report is presented to Solihull Adoption Panel by your social worker. The process will be explained to you in detail and your social worker will be there to support you. Panel members will have a copy of your assessment report together with any additional material you have provided.

If you decide not to attend, it will not disadvantage you in any way. The role of Panel is to recommend whether or not you are suitable people to be approved to adopt a child.

You will be notified verbally of the Panel's recommendation on the same day. However, this is subject to ratification of the Agency Decision Maker. This is the Director of Children Services or a nominated Executive Officer. We will let you know the Agency's decision, in writing, within 15 working days. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may make further representations to Solihull Adoption Agency or request that the decision be reviewed with the Independent Review Mechanism. You will be fully informed about how this can be done should the circumstances arise.

For further details on the role on the panel see pages on the Adoption Agency Review Panel.

Contact Details

Adoption Team
Jubilee House
655 Auckland Drive
Smith's Wood Solihull
B36 0SN

Telephone: 0800 073 0769

Email: ssplace@solihull.gov.uk

For general information on Children and Family Services, please email childrensservices@solihull.gov.uk