What is adoption? Adoption offers permanence to children who need a loving and secure family and who are unable to live with their birth parents. When a child is adopted they legally and permanently become part of the adopter’s family. Adoptions are arranged by an adoption agency that is legally permitted to arrange adoptions – the Isle of Wight Council, as a Local Authority, acts as an adoption agency. The adoption is made legally binding by the court on the making of an Adoption Order. The Adoption Order is permanent and transfers parental responsibility from the birth parents to the adopter(s).
When children are adopted it is usual for them to take the surname of their new family.
Why are children adopted? When an informed decision is made by the local authority that it is in the best interest of a child to be adopted, this decision has been made because the child’s health and wellbeing are at significant risk. Often the development of that child is also at risk of being hindered or irreparably damaged.
Some parents are unable to care for their children for a number of reasons. These could include domestic abuse, mental ill health, drug misuse, alcohol misuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect. Some birth parents have complex family backgrounds which have impacted on their capacity to safely care for their children and prioritise their needs.
It is essential that the local authority makes a child’s life safe and secure when it has been identified that there is no possibility of a child returning to its family. Adoption gives children stability and security and offers them the benefits of a happy home life with lots of opportunities and positive experiences.
Although children no longer live with their birth families there is often a plan for post –adoption contact with their birth family.
Why adopt? People choose adoption as a positive choice to build a family and the reasons for this are discussed as part of the assessment process. We welcome contact from people who have children as well as those who do not. Some applicants may have considered or experienced infertility treatment as an initial option before looking to adoption as the way forward. We also have expressions of interest from single applicants and those in a same-sex relationship. Essentially we hear from a range of people who want to have children in their lives and offer them a loving home.
What do I need to consider when thinking about adoption? Children who are placed for adoption need to have their own bedroom and if you are considering adopting 2 children then you should have 2 available bedrooms, even though it may be appropriate for the children to share a room.
Applicants need to be financially secure to the extent that they can maintain a child without incurring financial hardship. A financial assessment is undertaken as part of the assessment process.
Whilst age is not a barrier to adoption it will be taken into consideration and discussed fully. All applicants have full medical assessments as part of the process.
If applicants are undergoing fertility treatment which proves to be unsuccessful there is usually an expectation that there would be a wait, maybe for 6-12 months before an adoption assessment starts. Individual circumstances do vary and will need thorough discussion. If you or your partner has undergone treatment for infertility, we will need to discuss this with you so that we can understand how you have managed and accepted the loss of not having birth children.
If you or your partner are pregnant or already have children, please note that we would not be looking to place a child with other children that are less than 2 years older than the adopted child. If a child is placed, we ask applicants to take positive measures to prevent a pregnancy occurring for an agreed period of time.
What are the steps to adopting?