Page 42-43 - WINTER 2013
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Swindon Borough CounCil
Adoption
Adoption is a legal process that transfers parental responsibility from a child’s birth
parents to adoptive parents with the child becoming a full member of the adoptive
family.Adoption is a way of providing a permanent home for a child that cannot be
brought up in his/ her birth family.
To be able to adopt, there are a number
of points to comply with; applicants
must be at least 21 years of age in
order to be able to adopt, single
people and couples can apply
to adopt, and couples do not
have to be married or in
civil partnerships as it is the
stability of relationships
that matters not legal
status.There is no upper
age limit but children
needing adoption need
parent/parents who can
be a support to them
well beyond their teens
and both those who have
no children and those
who have birth children
can adopt.
A criminal record does not automatically
mean you cannot adopt but it does depend
on the offences and when they were
committed and there are some specified
offences against children which mean the
person is not suitable to adopt.You do
not have to own your home to adopt but
have appropriate security of tenure. Being
disabled is not a barrier to adoption thus
meaning there are no bans on the grounds of
age, weight, appearance, sexuality, status and
income.
Prospective adopters are welcome from
all cultures, languages and religions within
the uK and whose backgrounds are from
more than one culture.All applicants need
to demonstrate a commitment to giving a
child the care and security he or she needs,
by undergoing a detailed assessment of them
and their family, and attending a preparatory
training course.Applicants should be aware
of the importance of most adopted children
maintaining some level of contact with their
birth families.
After initial discussions with a family
placement officer, and Swindon Council
believes you can offer what is needed
and you wish to proceed, you must then;
attend a number of preparatory training
sessions, receive several visits from a family
placement officer, provide the names of two
referees who know you well, agree to the
agency conducting police checks and agree
to under-go a full medical examination.
Following this extensive background
information you are then deemed suitable
and will be matched.The approval process
can take up to 6 months to complete, with
no guarantee on how soon a child will be
placed, in Swindon there are usually about
ten children up to the age of 11 awaiting an
adoptive placement at any one time.
PArTiCulArlY needing
Adopters
inAreAS
bordering swindon
01793 465700
email:
