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<cms:item xmlns:cms="http://www.arsdigita.com/cms/1.0" xmlns="http://www.esd.org.uk/standards/esdbody" oid="[com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.ESDService:{id=160}]"><cms:name>adoption-160</cms:name><cms:language>en</cms:language><cms:title>Adoption</cms:title><cms:dublinCore oid="[com.arsdigita.london.cms.dublin.DublinCoreItem:{id=160}]"><cms:name>adoption-160-dublin-metadata</cms:name><cms:dcAudience>General Public</cms:dcAudience><cms:dcCoverage>content="99XX" scheme="ONS SNAC"</cms:dcCoverage><cms:dcCoveragePostcode/><cms:dcCoverageSpatialRef/><cms:dcCoverageUnit/><cms:dcDateValid/><cms:dcDisposalReview/><cms:dcLanguage>en</cms:dcLanguage><cms:dcTemporalBegin/><cms:dcTemporalEnd/><cms:dcCreatorOwner>LAWS Project - Starter Kit - http://www.laws-project.org.uk</cms:dcCreatorOwner><cms:dcCreatorContact>LAWS Project - Starter Kit - http://www.laws-project.org.uk</cms:dcCreatorContact><cms:dcPublisher>Tameside MBC - LAWS project - http://laws.tameside.gov.uk</cms:dcPublisher><cms:dcRights/><cms:dcKeywords>adoption</cms:dcKeywords></cms:dublinCore><cms:textAsset oid="[com.arsdigita.cms.TextAsset:{id=160}]"><cms:content><![CDATA[<h2>Social Services</h2><span class="gen">email address here</span><span class="gen">phone number here</span><span class="gen">sms phone number here</span><span class="gen">fax number here</span><span class="gen">minicom number here</span><p><i>Adoption is about meeting the needs of children, not meeting the needs of adults who wish to adopt. </i></p><hr/><p>Recently we have seen the
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introduction of much new legislation to govern Adoption Practice. We now have
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National Minimum Standards for Adoption as well as the Adoption and Children
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Act 2002, which is gradually being phased in. There is also procedural guidance
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for the provision of Post Adoption Support and for Inter Country Adoption. </p><h2>Children Placed for Adoption</h2><p> Adoption has changed markedly
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over the past 30 years. In 1970, 20,000 children were placed for Adoption. The
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majority of these were babies. Thirty years later as society's views and
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attitudes have changed this figure has decreased greatly. In 1999, 2,2000 children
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were placed for adoption. Over the past 4 years, however, this figure has grown
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due to greater acknowledgement of the role adoption can play in making permanent
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plans for children. Although the number of children adopted has dropped in the
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past 30 years the number of children adopted from care has grown. </p><p> The majority of children
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placed for Adoption will have been removed from their parents through the court
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system due to maltreatment in one form or another. All of these children will
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have had their plan for adoption approved by the court. These children come to adoption
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with their own identity, background and family history, all of which will impact
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on their adoptive home and require understanding and acceptance in order to
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increase the possibility of a successful placement. </p><p>Children who come into care
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are in most cases initially placed in foster care. Great efforts are made to
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keep siblings together. </p><p>Children awaiting adoption
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need careful preparation and explanation about what is going to happen to them
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and why. </p><p>Most children will need
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to maintain some level of contact with their birth parents in order to promote
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their self-esteem and identity. In most cases this is achieved through indirect
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letterbox contact. </p><h2>People wishing to Adopt</h2><p> Prospective adopters must
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be 21 or over. There is no upper age limit.</p><p> A couple wishing to adopt
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together must be married, although this is very likely to change in the near
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future with the implementation of new legislation. </p><p>Currently one member of
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a co-habiting couple can adopt and the other partner would need to apply for
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an order giving them Parental Responsibility. </p><p>Applications are welcomed
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from single people who can also adopt. </p><p>We welcome applicants from all areas of society and
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does not discriminate in any way. </p><p>We offer a service to all our residents and also welcome applications
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from those living outside the area, particularly from people wishing to adopt
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older children, sibling groups or children with special needs. </p><p> All applicants undergo
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statutory checks carried out through the police, social services, health, education
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and probation services. Anyone with an offence against children is barred by
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law from becoming an adopter. Personal references, eg. from friends or employers
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are also taken up. </p><p>All prospective adopters
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undergo a medical examination carried out by their own GP. </p><p>Adopters are viewed by the
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Local Authority as an important and valuable resource for children in need of
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adoption. As a result great care is taken in the training, assessment and support
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of all applicants. </p><p>Interest is particularly
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welcomed from people who can offer a home to: </p><ul>
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<li title="*">children 4 years and
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older</li>
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<li title="*">brothers and sisters</li>
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<li title="*">children with uncertain
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developmental futures</li>
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<li title="*">people who have already
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parented and have older children</li>
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<li title="*">children of black or
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mixed race</li>
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</ul><p>The Council also accepts applications from people wishing to adopt from overseas. Such assessments
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are carried out by a voluntary adoption agency and the cost, of around £2,500
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is met by the adopters. </p><p>Anyone contacting us
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will be able to talk to a social worker experienced in Adoption practice. An
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information pack is available and will be sent to anyone who wants to know more.
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</p><h2>Children waiting to be placed for
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adoption</h2><p> Each child is the subject
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of a Care Order made by a court. The Authority has to present a Care Plan to
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the court outlining and timetabling its plan to place the child for Adoption.
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</p><p>A referral is made to the
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local Adoption Consortium to access approved families within this pool. </p><p>Advertisements are placed
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in specialist magazines and interest sought from approved adopters. </p><p>Detailed and informative
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profiles of the children are prepared and sent to other Local Authorities and
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Voluntary Adoption Agencies throughout the country. </p><h2>Post Adoption Support</h2><p>The value of post adoption
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support has been recognised more in recent years as being crucial to the success
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of adoptive placements. A child's need for explanation and knowledge about
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his background may grow as he gets older. His behaviour may increasingly reflect
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the impact of poor or abusive parenting in his early years. </p><p> We will support all adoptive placements through our
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own services or those of a family's adoption agency. </p><p>The Local Authority also
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has a responsibility to the birth parents of children placed for adoption and
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will provide support and counselling to them. </p><p>We operate
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a Post Adoption Letter Box service to facilitate the exchange of photographs
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and letters between adopters and birth family members. </p><h2>When A Local Authority is Planning
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to Place a Child for Adoption</h2><p>Adoption is a way of providing
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a new permanent family for a child, not able to be brought up in the birth family.
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A Local Authority acts as an Adoption Agency and is legally allowed to arrange
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adoptions. This is done by the Social Worker gaining an understanding of the
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child's needs and seeking the adoptive family best able to meet them. </p><p>The Local Authority however
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cannot make such an arrangement legally binding. Only the court can do this,
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by the making of an Adoption Order. This ends the child's legal relationships
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with the birth family and gives the child new legal parents. The child becomes
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a full member of the adoptive family, the same as being born to the adopters.
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</p><p>Adoption means the permanent
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transfer of parental responsibility. This is such an important thing to happen
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in a child's life, that the law requires Adoption Agencies and courts to make
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sure that they put the child's long-term welfare first when they make decisions
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about adoption. </p><p>If your child is adopted,
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you will no longer have any legal rights and responsibilities. It may not be
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possible for you to see each other but there will be the opportunity for you
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to have 'indirect contact' via the Local Authority in the form of
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news about your child from the adoptive family. </p><p>If you have any worries,
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doubts or questions your child's Social Worker will try to help you as much
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as possible with these. You should also talk to your solicitor if you have one.
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You may find it helpful to talk things over with your family and friends too.
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In the past few years several independent organisations have been formed to
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offer advice and support to people in your position. </p><h3>Knowing about you
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is important</h3><p> Before an adoption can
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be arranged, the agency is required by law to ask for a lot of information about
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you and your child. This information is personal and will be treated as confidential,
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however there are some circumstances where the agency might need to pass particular
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information on to other people. Wherever possible, such circumstances will be
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explained to you. </p><p>All this information is
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needed for us to have the fullest possible knowledge and understanding of your
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child and family of birth. This helps those making the decisions about the future.
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You can therefore help your child by agreeing to provide as much information
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as you can about yourself and your family and by understanding our need to ask
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your doctor about your family's health. </p><p>We try to arrange for all
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birth parents to meet the prospective adopters of their child if it is felt
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to be appropriate. This is to help both sets of parents to have an image of,
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and a little more knowledge about each other. It will also be helpful for your
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child's adoptive parents to know as much as possible about your family background.
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Origins and birth family will be important to your child growing up. The information
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about your family's health will be important. Brothers and sisters (including
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half-brothers and sisters) are also very important to adopted children. If brothers
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and sisters have to be placed separately, each adoptive family will usually
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be asked to keep in touch with each other. Sometimes this is done through our "Letter Box Scheme". The "Letter Box" is explained
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later on this page. If you have any more children, or any other important changes
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occur in your life or your family, the Letter Box is a way of keeping your adopted
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child informed. </p><h3>Choosing a family
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for your child</h3><p> The law requires that Adoption
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Agencies make very thorough enquiries about families wishing to adopt. All prospective
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adopters undergo lengthy training and assessment by an Adoption Agency and must
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be approved by an Adoption Panel before they can be considered for adoption.
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</p><p>They are asked all sorts
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of information about themselves and their family background. </p><p>From having knowledge of
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their own family experiences and their skills and interests, the agency gets
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a picture of their family life and gains an understanding of what kind of upbringing
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they would offer a child. When your child's social worker looks for a family,
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one will be chosen because it is thought they are able to meet your child's
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needs. Your child's long-term welfare is the first consideration. A placement
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will not be made until it is believed that the right family is available. When
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a suitable family is found a recommendation is made to the Director of Social
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Services, who considers the needs of your child and the family recommended and
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makes the final decision. It is hoped that parents are reassured to know that
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so much thought goes into choosing the right family. </p><p>There may be special considerations
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you would like to be included in choosing your child's family. You might, for
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example, want your child to have a particular religious or cultural upbringing
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or to have the opportunity to develop a special interest or skill. Tell your
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child's social worker if you would like to make a list of what you would like
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in a family for your child. </p><p>It is not possible to promise
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to do as you wish, because your child's overall welfare must always be considered
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in choosing the adoptive family. However, your wishes will be taken into account
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wherever possible. </p><p>Older children will be given
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help to understand how adoption affects them in relation to you and your family
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and will be asked their views about the type of adoptive family they wish to
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live with. </p><h3>Adoption by foster
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carers</h3><p> Perhaps your child has
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been looked after by foster carers for a long time and they would like to adopt.
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In this case, the same thorough enquiries have to be made as are made with any
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other adopters. It is still very important to be sure that it would be best
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for your child to be adopted by that family, before adoption can be recommended
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and an adoption application made to the court. </p><h3>Applying to adopt
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a child</h3><p> Adoption can be carried
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out in one stage or two. The prospective adopters can make an application to
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adopt to the court of their choice and this application will be heard by a Judge.
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This is usually the case when birth parents agree to the adoption. However,
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in certain circumstances the agency may apply to the court for an Order freeing
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a child for adoption. This Order is then used by the adoptive parents at a later
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stage when they apply to the court for an Adoption Order. </p><h3>Freeing for adoption</h3><p> This procedure is not used
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in situations where parents are agreeing to their child's adoption. It is more
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likely to be used if you wish to oppose your child's adoption. </p><p>A Freeing Order transfers
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your rights and responsibilities wholly to the agency. Later on, when adopters
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make their application to adopt, the court transfers the parental right from
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the agency to the adoptive parents. </p><p>If an application to free
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your child for adoption is made, you will be asked to decide at that stage whether
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you would like to be informed about your child's placement and when the Adoption
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Order has been made. If you want to be kept in touch and within a year of the
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Freeing Order your child has not been adopted, you will be able to apply to
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the court for leave to resume your legal rights and responsibilities as the
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child's parent. </p><p>When a Freeing Order is
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granted to the Local Authority it is normal for the prospective adopters to
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then make their application to adopt to the court of their choice. This application
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will then be heard by a judge at an Adoption hearing. </p><h3>Are you willing
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for your child to be adopted?</h3><p> It may be that your child
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is the subject of a Care Order and an adoption plan was agreed upon by the court.
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Alternatively, it may be that you have asked this agency to arrange your child's
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adoption and an adoptive family has been sought at your request. In either circumstance,
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if you are willing for your child to be adopted, the court will ask a Social
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Worker independent of this agency (known as a Reporting Officer) to visit you
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and make sure that you understand what adoption involves. The Reporting Officer
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will need to be sure that you are willing to agree to your child's adoption
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quite freely and without any conditions. If the Reporting Officer is satisfied
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that you have thought about it carefully and know what you are doing, you will
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be asked to sign a formal document giving your agreement. The Reporting Officer
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will sign too, as a witness. This form will then be given to the court, who
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will also be told that you do understand what is involved. </p><h3>Are you unhappy
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at the prospect of your child being adopted?</h3><p> If you are, it is important
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for you to have legal advice from a Solicitor experienced in childcare matters
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as soon as possible. We will be able to give you a list of the Solicitors in
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this area that specialise in childcare cases. You may be entitled to Legal Aid
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and your Solicitor will be able to advise you about this. </p><p>One of two things must happen
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before a court can take away your rights as a parent and make an adoption order:
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either you must agree to this or the court must decide to dispense with the
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need for you to agree. However it can only do so if one of the circumstances
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set out in the law applies in your case and the court will need to have satisfactory
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evidence of this. The court will send you a copy of the statement of evidence
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they are given, and you should discuss it with your Solicitor as soon as you
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can. </p><p>In order to safeguard your
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child's interests the court will also ask a Social Worker independent of this
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agency (known as a Guardian ad Litem) to visit you. The Guardian ad Litem will
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want to know why you do not think it is a good idea for your child to be adopted.
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Your views will be reported to the court, because it is very important for them
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to know how you feel about your child's future. You will also have an opportunity
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to go to the court yourself if you want to, to explain why you are not willing
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to agree to your child's adoption. An Adoption Order cannot be made unless the
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court is sure it would be in your child's best interests to be adopted, and
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they have to take account of your views in deciding this. </p><h3>What happens after
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adoption?</h3><p> When your child moves to
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live with the adoptive family, the adoptive parents will already have received
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much information that will be important to your child growing up. Your child
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will also understand as fully as possible what is happening and will have their
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very own "Life Story Book" explaining their life in words pictures
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and photos. Hopefully, this book will have been made with your help, as knowing
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about you is important. As the years go by, your child will be given more information
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according to their level of understanding. </p><p>A decision will be made
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about the type of contact you are to have with your child once the placement
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for adoption has been made. This Department believes that in most cases some
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form of continued contact with the birth family and ongoing knowledge of them
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is important to a child growing up and developing in his adoptive family. There
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are two important factors in deciding what sort of contact is appropriate. Firstly
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any contact must be in the child's best interests and secondly any contact must
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not have a harmful effect on the adoptive placement. </p><p>There are two types of contact
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in adoption, direct and indirect. </p><ul>
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<li title="*">
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<p>
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<strong>Direct
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Contact</strong>
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<br/>
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This is face to face
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contact between the birth family and the child. This does not happen very
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often in adoption and usually only when the child has a positive relationship
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with a member of the birth family. This person, either a parent or relative,
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must also be in agreement with the plan for adoption and be able to support
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the adoptive placement. </p>
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</li>
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<li title="*">
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<p>
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<strong>Indirect
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Contact</strong>
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<br/>
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This is contact by
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letter and photographs or videos. This is usually arranged by Social
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Services through its Post Adoption Letterbox. All adopters
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chosen are willing to have indirect contact if it is
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appropriate. This is usually in the form of a letter about your child
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and photographs sent once or twice per year. When an adoptive home has
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been found for your child an agreement will be drawn up outlining what
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information is to be passed on. Say what you would like to know about
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your child's progress e.g. school, interests, health and ask for this
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to be put in the agreement. The agreement will be drawn up specially to
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meet the needs of the people involved. </p>
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</li>
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</ul><p>You may also like to write
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a letter and send photographs about yourself and your family. Ask if this is
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possible. If it is not then you can still send them and ask for them to be kept
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by us until your child is an adult. It is possible that your child
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may then contact us seeking more information about the past and they will be
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given these letters. </p><p>It is important that adopted
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children are able to have further significant information about their birth
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families over the years. It is also important and reassuring to families to
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have news of their child from time to time. </p><h3>The Post Adoption
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Letter Box Scheme</h3><p> This is the means by which
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information will be exchanged between yourself and your child's adoptive family.
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The scheme is run by the Letter Box Co-ordinator who will try to answer any
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queries you may have about the scheme or pass you onto a Social Worker who will
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try to help you. If you have not made an agreement to either give or receive
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information at the time of your child's placement it may be possible to arrange
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one sometime later. We would be prepared to look into this for you. </p><p>It should be pointed out
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that the agreements mentioned above are not legally binding and are not formally
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linked with any Court Order. </p><h3>When your child
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becomes an adult</h3><p> When babies and toddlers
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are placed for adoption, the adopters sometimes change the child's first name.
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They get an adoption certificate from the Registrar General which shows the
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child's new name only and shows the adopters as parents. This certificate takes
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the place of a birth certificate for all legal purposes. On reaching 18, your
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child will be legally entitled, to get a copy of the original birth certificate.
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However, your child is likely to still have a Life Story Book completed in earlier
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life. It is usual for a copy of the original birth certificate to be put in
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the Life Story Book. </p><p>The birth certificate will
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show your child's original name, your name and the address you were living at
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when the birth was registered. </p><p>For birth fathers, who were
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not married to the mother or present at the child's registration, you need to
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understand that your child may not be able to learn of your identity from the
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birth certificate. </p><h3>Post adoption services
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in this area</h3><p> This agency is now developing
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post-adoption services more comprehensively and is prepared to work in many
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ways to assist and support: </p><ul>
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<li title="*">Adopted
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children and their adoptive families.</li>
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<li title="*">Adopted adults.</li>
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<li title="*">Birth parents and
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grandparents.</li>
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<li title="*">Siblings of adopted
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children.</li>
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</ul><p>You should use the contact
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details above for more information on this and any other points on this page.</p><span class="gen">email address here</span><span class="gen">phone number here</span><span class="gen">sms phone number here</span><span class="gen">fax number here</span><span class="gen">minicom number here</span><span class="gen">postal address here</span><h3>
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<a href="/ccm/services/pid.jsp?pid=160"> Providing Information
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(160)
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</a></h3>]]></cms:content></cms:textAsset></cms:item>
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