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Social Work ServicesAdoptionin Fifewww.fifedirect.org.uk/adoption

Adoption in Fife | 1Adopting in FifeOffering a child a home for life is one of the biggest and mostlife-changing decisions you can make. But it’s not a simpledecision and you need to go into the process with your eyesopen. This guide answers some of the most common questionsabout adopting in Fife.If you’ve ever thought about adoption the Family PlacementTeam can help answer any questions you might have.Why adopt 2Who can adopt 5Making an enquiry 8Adoption support 12Adopting a child from overseas 12Further information 13

2 | Adoption in FifeWhy adopt?Adoption is a life-long decision where a child becomes part ofyour family, giving you the same legal rights as birth parents.By choosing to adopt you are offering a child a stable, secureand loving permanent home.The Family Placement Team’s job is to make the best decisionfor the child, so when we recruit parents we are looking forpeople with a variety of skills and experiences who can meeteach child’s different needs.

Adoption in Fife | 3What kind of children and young peopleneed families?There are all kinds of reasons why children can’t stay withtheir birth families. Some children come from complex familybackgrounds while others may have experienced trauma intheir life due to separation, loss, abuse, neglect or other hurtfulexperiences.Nowadays, we rarely have straightforward young babiesavailable for adoption. If we need to find an adoptive family fora baby, it is likely that a decision will have been made to removethe child because the mother is not able to care for him/her.Babies like Cheryl, age 10 months, who was placed in fostercare at three weeks of age, because of her mother’s heroinaddiction and inability to look after her two brothers. Cherylhad to stay in the hospital to help her withdraw from thedrugs her mother was using during pregnancy. She wasan unsettled, fractious baby for the first few months and,although she is responding well to patient care, she cansometimes cry inconsolably for no obvious reason. Sheis beginning to crawl and laugh, but there are still someconcerns about her general development.

4 | Adoption in FifeWe also need families for brothers and sisters, who may haveexperienced neglect or abuse within their own family:Children like Reece (3) and Melanie (4), who have been inand out of foster care since they were babies. Their motherhas mental health problems and abuses alcohol. They havewitnessed violence between their mother and her partnersand experienced very poor general care. They are nowhappy and settled with foster carers, but quickly becomeanxious when there are any changes to their routines. Theyfight a lot but don’t like being apart.There are also single, older children who need adoptive families.These children may have had a strong relationship with a parentand can struggle to settle with a new family:Like Darren (6), who lived happily with his mother for twoyears before she began to use drugs. He tried to lookafter her as her health deteriorated and still struggles tounderstand why she can’t look after him, and doesn’t keepin contact. Darren finds it difficult to talk about how he isfeeling and sometimes becomes angry about little things,needing lots of reassurance that he is cared for. He is doingwell in school and loves animals.Many of the children may also have emotional, behavioural,physical or medical needs.If you are thinking about adoption we ask that you come with anopen mind. We won’t accept your application if you only want toadopt healthy babies or very young children. For us to consideryour application we need to know that you will consider adoptinga sibling group (brothers and sisters) or a single older child.

Adoption in Fife | 5Who can adopt?We have a range of very different children who need adoptivefamilies so we need lots of different people to consider adoption,you don’t have to be married couple, childless or rich to adopt.We welcome applications from couples with children of theirown, older couples with grown-up children or single people. Youdo need to be prepared to take on a challenge, listen and learn,and give lots of time, energy and attention to some of our mostvulnerable and challenging children.We look at a number of factors when assessing someone’ssuitability as an adoptive parent. This includes your:• age• relationships• health• fertility issues• criminal convictions.AgeYou must be over 21 to apply to adopt a child and ideally thereshould be no more than 40 years between you and the child.That said, we’re flexible when we look at each application,because we understand you could have skills that would makeall the difference to a child – so don’t let your age put you off.What we do need from you is a degree of maturity and anunderstanding of children’s needs.

6 | Adoption in FifeRelationshipsA range of couples can be considered for adoption:• married couples• couples in civil partnerships• people living together in an enduring family relationship (musthave been living together for at least two years).If you’re single and living alone you can still adopt if you canoffer a child a stable home. Normally that means we wouldn’tconsider your application if it has been less than a year since theend of a previous relationship.HealthIf you apply to adopt a child you will need to have a full medicalexamination. We also assess your medical history and that ofyour family, together with details of your current physical andmental health. The examination is normally done by your GPand then sent to our medical advisor who will arrange for moreinformation to be obtained if we need it.If you smoke we will not normally place a child under five, or onewith a history of respiratory problems, with you.Our medical advisor also strongly recommends that you do notsmoke around any child.

Adoption in Fife | 7Fertility issuesMany people think about adoption because they can’t havechildren of their own.If you or your partner is having fertility treatment, it is a verystressful time and you will have little time to think about anythingelse. That’s why we don’t accept applications from people whoare still receiving treatment.Even if your treatment is finished, we would still look at thetiming of your application to make sure you are consideringadoption in a positive way, rather than as a hasty response toinfertility problems.Criminal offencesTell us as soon as possible if you have any police convictions.We won’t necessarily turn your application down for a minor orinsignificant matter but you must tell us about it.When you apply we’ll ask you, and anyone who lives with youwho is over 16, to complete a Disclosure Scotland form. Thisnational checking procedure is used to confirm you have noserious criminal offences which could stop you adopting a child.A record of conviction will not necessarily mean that youcan’t adopt – it depends on what the conviction was for – butour senior staff will work with the Adoption Panel to make aconsidered decision. We do not accept applicants who havebeen convicted of any offence against a child.

8 | Adoption in FifeMaking an enquiryWhen you first enquire about adoption we will take some simpleinformation from you and send you an adoption pack. If you thendecide you want to take the next step, and you meet the criteria,you will be offered an interview with a social worker.This interview gives you the opportunity to find out more aboutadoption and whether it’s right for you. The social worker willdiscuss in more detail with you the information that we will needto gather and the checks that we make. They will also discussthe needs of children who require adoptive homes and help youto understand the additional responsibilities adoptive parentscan expect.If you meet the necessary criteria and want to proceed, you willbe invited to attend a preparation group.We run preparation groups throughout the year, as required,which you need to attend, as they are an important part of thepreparation process. We design the courses to give you as muchinformation as possible about adoption, as well as giving you theopportunity to look at and discuss the issues around parentingsomeone else’s child. You also get the opportunity to hear fromfoster carers and adopters.The meetings cover a wide range of topics including:• the effects on children of separation and loss• physical and sexual abuse• neglect• talking to children about adoption• issues of contact with birth families• the legal and medical aspects of adoption• contact with social workers and other professionals.

Adoption in Fife | 9Depending on your personal experience and knowledge of childcare, you might also be asked to carry out other pieces of work,such as spending time at a nursery or meeting with experiencedadopters. This will help you to develop the right skills – and helpus to measure your suitability as an adoptive parent.Pre-application interviewFollowing the Preparation Group you will be offered a preapplicationinterview. We go over fuller information about youand your reasons for wishing to adopt. We discuss what youthink you have to offer children who need adoption in light ofwhat you have learnt at the preparation group. We then deceidewhether to invite you to apply to adopt.The applicationWhen you are invited to apply you will be given and applicationform to fill in and consent forms to sign for the statutory checksto be carried out.Additional checksAs you will appreciate we have to be very sure about who weplace children with so we also carry out our own checks. We dothis to make sure there are no reasons why a child shouldn’t beplaced with you.

10 | Adoption in FifeReferencesWe need the names and addresses of four personal referees foryou who are not relatives. These people should know you wellpersonally rather than professionally.Each referee will be asked to provide a written reference andwe may also interview them as part of your assessment. Anyinformation received remains confidential between the FamilyPlacement Team and the referee.If you have been married or had a lengthy relationship before, wewill probably want to speak to your previous partner as well.AssessmentOnce we have looked at your application and completed thechecks and references, the assessment process will usuallybegin.The prospect of starting an assessment might seem daunting,but it does give you and your social worker the chance to get toknow each other. It also lets you prepare yourself for the processof adopting a child. It is important for us to get to know you wellso we can find the most suitable family for every child.As part of the assessment we’ll work with you on what’s knownas `home study.’This is where you work with a social worker to prepare adescription of your:• family background• work experience• relationship• significant personal issues• hopes and expectations of parenting; and• life experiences and how they have influenced your decision toadopt.

Adoption in Fife | 11This part of the assessment is very detailed and challenging andrequires openness, trust and awareness of your own strengthsand limitations. It can take up to six months to complete andinvolves a series of interviews, with one or two social workersfrom the Family Placement Team.If you have children of your own they will also be fully involvedin the process, within the limits of their age and understanding.Your social worker will need to spend time with them to explainwhat is proposed and to find out how they feel about it, as theirreaction can be crucial to the success or failure of a placement.Deciding if you can adoptOnce your application and assessment has been completed wewill put your application forward to Fife Council’s Adoption andFostering Panel. The panel includes Council staff and severalindependent members who have a variety of experience, tomake sure fair and appropriate decisions are made.You will be invited to attend part of the meeting with your socialworker but it’s entirely your choice as to whether or not to attend.Once the panel has considered all the information, it will make arecommendation which is then considered by a senior manager,as Fife’s agency decision maker. The decision to approve you asa prospective adopter is based solely on your ability to promotethe welfare of a child throughout their life. The welfare of thechild is always at the heart of any decision we make.Unsuccessful applicationsIf you’re not successful your social worker will discuss thereasons with you and let you know about our appeals procedure– more information is available in the fact sheet called FifeCouncil’s Appeals.

12 | Adoption in FifeAdoption supportPreparing for adoptionIt’s impossible to say how long you may have to wait before achild or children are placed with you. It depends on the needs ofthe children waiting for adoption at any one time.Once you have been approved as an adopter, your social workerwill continue to visit you regularly. The focus of these visitswill be to continue to discuss the support available to you, toconsider links with a child, and to share information about anychanges in personal circumstances. We can also arrange forfurther training if you feel you need it.Adopting a child from overseasIt is possible to adopt a child from another country. If you arethinking about this you need to find out as much as possibleabout the adoption rules for the country from where you want toadopt. These regulations can be very complex and often changefrequently.You can get helpful advice from the Scottish Government on0131 244 3663.We can help you with an overseas application by undertaking theHome Study part of the assessment (for Fife residents.) However,there is a charge for this service (currently £4,500) which youneed to pay at the start of the assessment process, regardless ofwhether your application is successful or not.

Further informationFor more details about adopting in Fife speak to:• Family Placement Team Duty Worker08451 555555 ext 470699Adoption in Fife | 13Useful contactsBritish Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) Scotland113 Rose StreetEdinburghEH2 3DTTel: 0131 226 9270Fax: 0131 226 2503Email: scotland@baaf.org.ukWeb: www.baaf.org.uk/local/scot/Scottish Government Intercountry Adoption TeamEducation DepartmentCare and Justice DirectorateArea 2A (N)Victoria QuayEdinburghEH6 6QQTel: 0131 244 3663

Adoption in FifeFor information about adoption in Fife please contact:Family Placement Servicestel: 08451 55 55 55 ext 470699email: sw.familyplacementduty@fife.gov.ukor visit: www.fifedirect.org.uk/adoptionAlternative FormatsThe information included in this publication can be made availablein large print, braille, audio CD/tape and British Sign Languageinterpretation on request by calling 08451 55 55 00.Language lines08451 55 55 7708451 55 55 9908451 55 55 88Polskojęzyczna linia telefoniczna:08451 55 55 4408451 55 55 66Social Work Services