Sunday, 7 September 2008
Yes. There is no upper age limit. You have to think whether you have the energy to look after a child, and support them as they grow up.
Yes. Single people can adopt. Unmarried couples can adopt jointly.
Yes. We approve adopters regardless of working or financial status.
Yes. As long as you can provide the space and time to meet the child’s needs.
Yes. You will need to show that you can care for a child in a safe and secure environment, this is the same for anyone regardless of whether you own or rent your home.
Yes. Doncaster Adoption Options are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all our adoptive parents. We are interested in assessing your ability to care for children.
Yes. But the effect of your smoking on you and a child’s health will be considered a serious issue, especially if you wish to adopt a child under the age of two.
No. If you are pregnant, trying to conceive or have recently had a child, we don’t think that it is appropriate for you to adopt at the present time.
Yes. It depends on the conviction, when it was committed and how you have lived since. People with serious or sexual offences against children will automatically be excluded from adopting. A Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check will be made on all applicants during the application process.
Yes. Your own children are an important part of your family and will be included in the assessment process. We recommend that there is a two-year age difference between your youngest child and any child that is placed.
Yes. We welcome applications from people who live within a reasonable distance from Doncaster, in order to access training and support.
Yes. Everyone who applies to adopt has to undergo a medical as part of the assessment process to make sure that they have the ability to care for a child.
No. Undergoing fertility treatment can be a difficult and emotional time for a couple; experience in the field of adoption shows that it is not a suitable time to consider adoption. If your treatment is unsuccessful then we would consider you twelve months after your treatment has ended. Infertility counselling is also a pre-requisite before beginning your application with us. Doncaster Adoption Options can provide you with this if you wish.
If you would like to discuss adoption further with a member of the Adoption Team you can call us directly by calling 01302 737789. Alternatively you can complete the form below and a member of the team will contact you.
eform: Adoption Enquiry Form
Once you express an interest in becoming an adopter, you enter a process that will monitor your suitability to care for children. Every precaution has to be taken to ensure that the safety and welfare of any child placed by Doncaster Council is guaranteed. This means that the assessment process is detailed and can at times be intrusive.
At any stage of this process you can terminate your interest in adoption with no pressures on you to continue.
For more information on the full process please click on the following link: Process for approving adopters
Once you have been approved as an adopter, you will start another process of being matched with a suitable child. Including:
These policies state the general principles that govern the actions of Doncaster Adoption Options. However, each case must be considered on its own merits with an acceptance that there may be the need for exceptions from the general policy in certain cases.
For more information on the full process please click on the following link: Process for matching adopters to childrenThere are children freed for adoption of all ages and from many different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. There are also children with disabilities and illnesses. Often brothers and sisters will need homes and families and we will aim to keep them together.
The majority of the children placed for adoption will have had an unsettled early life and may have physical, emotional and educational delay. Apart from their clearly identified individual needs, all the children placed for adoption will have a need for stability and will have experienced loss in their lives. Some may have been abused or neglected and may display challenging behaviour. Some of them do not know how it feels to be part of a stable family or to have a meaningful relationship with an adult. These children want to feel safe and secure and be looked after by parents who will love and protect them.
The Letterbox
In the past the making of an Adoption Order was considered as final and all contact was severed. Adopted adults have told us that this severance has left them feeling like a “jigsaw with a piece missing”.
Now most children placed for adoption have indirect contact known as Letterbox arrangements. There may be situations where adoptive and birth families will feel able to send news directly to one another. For those who do not wish to exchange addresses it is a confidential way of staying in touch. Such an arrangement allows for the exchange of information between birth relatives and adoptive parents. Not every child who is adopted will have such an arrangement. It is only when all parties want this, are able to use it and when it is clearly in the child’s best interests.
For more information click on the following link: Letterbox
