Children and young people

A safe environment

The physical well-being of the child must be considered when placing for adoption. The assessment of the accommodation must take into account the needs of the child and all other members of the family and there must be confidence that there is sufficient space for all the family. When placing older children for adoption, bedrooms will be only shared with children of the same sex and for some children, single bedrooms will be a requirement. The safety of a child placed for adoption is important and any potential risks from any hobbies, activities or the environment of the applicants will be taken into consideration, e.g. garden ponds and the keeping of firearms.

Pets and domestic animals are often an important part of family life and can prove to be very emotionally beneficial for an adopted child. Safety and hygiene must always be taken into account where there are animals. The potential risks, dangers or benefits from any animal or group of animals will be considered in the assessment of adoptive applicants and if the applicants are approved, will be taken into account before making a placement.

Age of applicants

The age of people who apply to be adoptive parents will not be considered in isolation. In the case of older children, the age of applicants is relevant in relation to their health, fitness and their likely life expectancy. It may be necessary to consider the benefits for the child balanced against the risks of limitations that may be present due to the applicant's age.

When placing babies (up to 12 months) or very young children, the birth parents' view of the age of the prospective applicants must be taken into consideration, especially if the child is being placed at the request of the birth parent. The numbers of babies and very young children requiring adoptive homes is low and prospective adopters will be informed of this.

Approved adopters awaiting a placement

Adopters will be referred to the South East Adoption Consortium (if no suitable match is available with a Medway child) after 21 days.

When there are approved adopters who wish to change their specified approval (e.g. from approval to adopt a baby to approval to adopt an older child) an updated report will be presented to the Adoption Panel to change the approval. It will be expected that the adopters will have undertaken further preparation work prior to the change in their approval being considered.

Any serious changes in circumstances that arise for the adopters after approval and before an adoption order will be put before an Adoption Panel in order to provide the best opportunity for considered decision-making and to provide the court with the Panel's opinion.

Chronic medical conditions

There are a number of chronic medical conditions that may reduce the parenting capacity of an individual or their life expectancy. Adoption workers and adoption panels must seek information and guidance from the Adoption Agency's medical advisers and inform applicants of any contra-indications and the reasons for them, as early as possible in their application.

Foster carers who adopt

Many foster carers who have cared for a child for some time elect to adopt them into their family. They will be required to undergo a full adoption assessment. In order to emphasise the commitment and the change of status of the child and family, no new foster placements will be made with the family from the time the adoption application papers are submitted to court until six months after the adoption order has been made.

Infertility

In order to make the real commitment to an adoptive child, applicants must have let go of the idea of having their own natural child. Childless applicants must have undergone medical investigation for their infertility or have clear and acceptable reasons why they do not want to have their own child, e.g. inherited illnesses. Medical treatment for infertility is now very sophisticated and can extend for a considerable period. It is important that any treatment for infertility has ceased at least six months prior to the application. The application will cease if the treatment for infertility is re-started. Infertile adopters will be expected to attend a workshop prior attending the adopters pre-group.

International adoption

The same standards will applied to applicants who wish to adopt a child from overseas.

The Adoption Agency will provide an initial advice and counselling session to all people considering adoption from overseas. A charge will be made for undertaking the home study assessment report. Prospective adopters will sign a contract with the Agency prior to the home study commencing. All prospective adopters are invited to attend the adoption panel.

The charge is made to cover to cost of the work, as this is in addition to the statutory duties and responsibilities of the Agency.

Sexuality

Medway Council has an equal opportunities policy and will assess all applicants with respect and fairness.

Smoking

The responsibility of the Adoption Agency is primarily for the welfare of the children it places for adoption and consideration must be given to their long-term health and well-being. It has been well established that secondary smoking has serious health risks, especially for children. Therefore, smoking will be considered as a serious risk factor when making placements for all children. Babies will not be placed with people who smoke. However, a child should not lose the opportunity for a family because the applicants smoke and it will be important to consider the benefits for the child, balanced against the risks to the child's health.

Step-parent adoptions and other non-agency placements

As in all adoption placements, the focus will be upon the needs of the child to be adopted. The assessment will include the child's understanding or how they will be helped to understand and their sense of who they are, especially in relation to the significant adults in their life. It will also include the quality and importance of the relationships between the child and all the significant adults and how this is accepted and supported by those adults.

The relationships between the adults in the child's life may be difficult and it will be important to assess how the adults will manage their relationships on behalf of the child and if they can understand and accept the importance of this for the child. It may be necessary to mediate between the adults and assist them in considering all the legal alternatives that could provide security and stability for the child. The court considering the adoption order will require that all the alternatives have been considered.

Religion

The Adoption Acts and Adoption Agency regulations require that the wishes of birth parents with regard to their children's religious upbringing must be taken into account when considering a placement. If necessary, an appropriate family will be sought through another agency.

Weight

The weight of adopters is only of importance in relation to the effects on their life expectancy, teaching a child healthy eating habits and any possible psychological causes for weight problems. These issues will be explored as part of the assessment. The advice of the Adoption Agency medical adviser must be sought at an early stage when applicants have a weight problem.

Working parents

The Adoption Agency has a prime responsibility to the children who are placed for adoption through the Agency. Every child placed for adoption has experienced a minimum of one loss and most of them have experienced several losses. Consequently, there is a priority need for the new parents to invest in the child and the initial stages of a placement are vital in the development of the new family. It is important for the child to develop a sense of security and belonging and the use of different carers is best avoided in the early stages of a placement. Therefore, there is an expectation that one parent will not be working when the child is placed.

The minimum acceptable period for a pre-school child before the non-working parent returns to their employment is six months. The adoptive parents should be guided by the needs of the child before returning to work and consult with their adoption officer and the child's social worker if an adoption order has not yet been made.

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