FAQs

You can get started by talking to us. We can answer all your questions and help you decide whether it's the right time for you to move forward.

It usually takes around six months from you applying to being approved but if you'd like to slow down or take a break you can do.

We're looking for loving supportive environments for children and if you're worried about anything you can talk it through with our team. There is no such thing as a perfect parent and we offer high levels of support throughout the adoption journey.

Yes you can. Our team are here to support you every step of the way. As part of the preparation process you'll also meet adoptive parents and be able to ask about their experiences.

As an adoptive parent you'll have to meet the costs of providing for a child until adulthood and you'll have the same entitlement as any other parent to claim from a range of benefits to help you meet their needs.

If you have more questions about financial help you can speak to our team.

We're here to support you every step of the way. Our skilled and professional post adoption support team will be here for you long after you have had a child placed with you.

Yes you can. Children need a loving stable environment and this is possible whether you are single, married, divorced, widowed or living with a partner. For some children single parents are actually preferable.

We welcome your enquiry no matter what your sexuality. We're proud members of New Family Social an organisation that supports members of our LGBT community throughout the adoption process and beyond. In fact, all of our LGBT families get free GOLD membership of New Family Social for the first year. Take a look at their site to find out more about the free support here when you adopt with us.

Lots of people with health problems and disabilities have gone onto adopt. You will need to be fit and well enough to care for a child into adulthood. The process includes a medical assessment and this will be considered by our own agency medical advisor. We would encourage you to arrange to meet with one of our social workers and discuss your particular situation.

The most important thing is that you tell us about any known offences at the beginning of the process. In many situations these do not affect your application to adopt however there are some serious offences, including those against children, that would automatically rule out an application to adopt. Talk to us if you are worried about this.

You're welcome to talk to us about adopting whilst you're waiting for or receiving fertility treatment. There are no set rules about how long you have to wait to apply after stopping fertility treatment but it can be an emotional time and we'd want to make sure the timing is right for you. We will be happy to discuss this with you when you contact us.

We'd really encourage you to give up because of the risks to your long term health and the effects of secondary smoke on children. If you currently smoke and are thinking about adoption get in touch and we can talk through how this would affect your application, signpost you to smoking cessation services and think about how we proceed.

Children often love animals and if the pet poses no risk to children there would be no problem at all.

We welcome applications from anyone over 21 years old and there's no upper age limit. We'll take into account your health and personal circumstances when we look at the age and needs of children you might be matched with.

We would welcome your application whether you rent or own your home.

There are lots of reasons children can't be brought up by their birth family. In most cases their birth family have been unable to provide safe, secure homes for them and the courts have decided that being adopted would be in the child's best interest.

We need to find homes for all the children we have with a plan of adoption but siblings and children with developmental delay or uncertainty often wait longer than we'd like for families.

Having children of your own is often a very good start-it means you have experience of parenting! We usually plan for an adopted child to be the youngest in the family and for there to be a reasonable gap in age between them and your birth child. If your children are grown up and living at home, or indeed if they have left home, we will be interested to hear their thoughts about your adoption plans.

Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you can’t adopt. Talk to us about what your disability means for you and how you could support our children.