In a Nutshell: The adoption process

Who needs to be adopted?
When children cannot be brought up by their own parents, adoption is one option for giving the child a new family. Every year around 4,000 children across the UK and from a range of backgrounds are in need of adoption. The majority of these children are of school age and many have brothers or sisters who want to stay together. Children with special needs and disabilities may also need adoption, and others who may have experienced neglect or abuse.

Adoption orders are frequently granted to step- parents, relatives, a local authority or adoption agency and private foster parents. Adopters must be over 21 and be prepared to accommodate the child in their life, by making a home for the child, being patient, flexible, active and determined to make a difference to the child’s life.

How is the process begun?
The adoption process begins at an adoption agency, within either a local authority or social work department. It usually takes six months for the social workers from the adoption agency to get to know the prospective adopters. Applicants’ criminal records will be considered, they will be examined by their GP and will be asked to provide three personal references. After having met the applicants, the agency’s independent adoption panel will then look at the report from the application and decide whether to approve the applicants.

A birth mother cannot give consent to adoption until the child is at least six weeks old. However, consent to adoption may not be required if the parents are found to be incapable of giving consent. If the birth parents do not agree to adoption, there are circumstances where the court can override their wishes.

Where is the order made?
The Adoption Order is made by the High Court, County Court or Magistrates Court in the district where the child lives. Except in “special circumstances”, the order cannot be made unless the child is present at court. The Court may choose to make a short-term order which would give parental responsibility to the adopters and can attach conditions to the orders.

What happens once the order has been granted?
When a child is placed for adoption, parental responsibility is transferred to the adopters and (initially) the adoptive agency. Once an adoption order has been granted by the court, it cannot be reversed unless exceptional circumstances arise.

When the order has been made, the parental responsibility is vested solely with the adopter; the child loses all legal ties with their birth parents and becomes a full member of their new family, taking the family’s name.

The child is unlikely to have contact with the birth parents after the adoption order has been placed. Direct contact is almost never allowed, although a heavily controlled provision for indirect contact may be made.

The government has announced a two-year project to give adopters ongoing support from April.

Coram and Coram Children’s Legal Centre with Adoption UK have launched a National Gateway for Adoption, a new "one-stop-shop" online service, for the first stages of the adoption process, making it easy for those thinking about adoption to find out more.