Pre-stage one

Taking the first step of your adoption journey is a huge move, so it’s important that you have all the right information. From the moment you first make contact with us, we’ll talk you through everything so you know what to expect.

Your initial enquiry

You begin the process by making your initial enquiry. This could be a telephone call or a letter/email to the Adoption Service expressing your interest in adoption and asking for more details.  The Adoption Service will take some basic details and then, within 5 working days, send you an information pack which provides  you with information about:

• General information about adoption
• The procedure involved in becoming an adopter
• Children who need adoptive families
• What will be expected of you as an adopter?
• An explanation of why checks will be made of your background and the background of other adult members of your household.

The Adoption Team considers your initial enquiry

Once you have decided you wish to proceed further and have made contact with the the Adoption Agency, the Recruitment officer/Social Worker will then arrange to visit you (within 2 weeks) and have a full discussion about your application, the reasons you want to adopt, your family circumstances etc.

The Recruitment Officer/Adoption Social Worker will give you a Registration of Interest Form (ROI) for you to complete and return if you wish to continue with your application.

Your ROI will be reviewed by a Manager, we will then make a decision about whether or not we proceed to Stage One of the process, and we inform you of this within 10 working days. If for any reason we are unable to accept your application, the reasons will be discussed with you.

If we agree that you will proceed, you will then be allocated an Adoption Social Worker within 2 weeks.