This week, October 17th until October 23rd, is National Adoption Week, and Herefordshire Council are actively looking for adopters inside and outside of Herefordshire, to provide a loving, permanent family for a child, or children, through adoption.

The Ross Gazette recently spoke to a man, living in Herefordshire, who is about to adopt a child with his partner.

He told the Gazette that he is in same-sex relationship. He said: “Many of our friends and family thought it was about time, we’ve been together for 20 years and it’s something we’ve talked about a lot.”

He added that their loved ones have been very supportive throughout their adoption journey. “We didn’t realise how much work goes into the process, not just for the adopters, but the social workers too,” he said.

He added that the social workers have been very helpful and supportive throughout the whole adoption process.

There are two stages to the adoption journey. After an application is made to begin the process, Stage One commences, and this takes approximately two months. The adopters will need to provide proof of their identity, and will be subject to a number of various checks, including a DBS check, along with several personal references.

The adopters will also be asked to attend a training course, to help with their understanding about what the children need from their future homes. The course will help potential adopters decide if adoption really is the right plan for themselves and their family.

During Stage One, adopters will be asked to complete a self-assesment form, to highlight to the Council, what they believe they can offer an adopted child or children.

The adopters can then take a break, if they choose, before Stage Two of the process begins. This takes around four months and the potential adoptive parents will be assigned their own social worker, who will spend time getting to know them during a number of meetings.

The social worker will ask adopters why they are looking to adopt, what they can offer the child, and they will also ask for lots of information about the adopters themselves. The purpose is to learn as much as they can about the adopters and their family.

The social worker will then put together a comprehensive report, typically 30 - 40 pages, about the adopters, and this will be presented to the Agency Adoption Panel.

The completed report will be shared with the adopters, excluding the information obtained from referees. They will have the opportunity to add their own views and comments before the report is presented to the Panel.

The Panel then make a recommendation to Herefordshire Council whether or not the potential adopters should be accepted.

If they are, they can then proceed to finding a match. The social workers will be considering any potential matches with Herefordshire children throughout the assessment, so adopters may be matched very quickly with the children, but this may not always be the case.

A child is matched or linked with a family according to the child’s specific needs and an adopter’s ability to meet those needs. Approved adopters will have access to a website, where they can access information about children, who are waiting to be adopted.

The adopter the Gazette had been introduced to said: “We’re very lucky we got a match so quickly, some people can be waiting for six to 12 months.”

He added that when he and his partner saw the child’s online profile, and read his report, they felt an “immediate connection.”

“We believe he’s the right part of our little family,” he told the Gazette.

“We found it fascinating, we didn’t have any preconceived ideas, about age, we kept our options open.”

The child that the couple hope to adopt is almost six years old. Children up to the ages of about seven or eight may be on the adoption register. “It’s not all about babies,” the adopter told the Gazette, “Older children are also looking for their forever homes.”

People from all walks of life can be considered as adopters, they may be single, or in committed relationships, they can be in same-sex or heterosexual couples, and neither age nor status should prohibit someone from adopting, although the minimum age is 21. The only thing that would prohibit an application would be a criminal conviction, relating to children.

If you are interested in adopting, please call Herefordshire Council’s adoption team on 01432 383241 or email them at [email protected]