What is the process?

All journeys begin with finding out about the road ahead; your adoption journey may start with reading background information, looking online or attending an Information Event. 

You can then make an Adoption Enquiry and get the opportunity to meet a member of the team on an Initial Visit to discuss your interest in adoption further.

Ways to get in touch

If you're thinking about adoption then we'd love to help.

• Come to a local information event 
• Request a call back for a chat
• Request our introductory Information Pack
• Make an enquiry
• Call 0303 333 1216

This is known as the pre-assessment process and normally takes 2 months to complete unless there are exceptional circumstances.

During this time, you will undertake adoption training and preparation, whilst we carry out background checks and take up your references.

Stage One of the adoption process begins when we accept your Registration of Interest form, which we will have provided to you.

As part of this process, we will make a Prospective Adopter Stage One Plan with you, which will identify and define roles and responsibilities and explore what adoption will mean for you and your family at a pace which is right for you.

This stage allows you to make an informed decision about whether you want to continue your assessment, based on your understanding of the information provided and if adoption is the right journey for you at this time in your life. 

We will work closely with you to help and advise you during this process and give you the support you need.

In Cumbria Adoption the Stage One training course is held every two months and consists of three days of intensive information about adoption and exploration of the process. 

This will provide you with an opportunity to meet experienced adopters and staff.

You will learn about the challenges and pleasures you may encounter during the process of adopting a child. We will also provide you with the information you need to continue to Stage Two - the assessment process.

The second stage of the adoption process should take 4 months unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The purpose of this stage is to assess your suitability to adopt more thoroughly and produce a report known as the Prospective Adopters Report (PAR) which will be presented to the Adoption Panel.

You will be expected to attend the Stage 2 training, which is a 2-day course offering an Introduction to Therapeutic Parenting. 

During your assessment, your allocated social worker's task is to consider whether you are suitable to adopt, and what type of child or children you would best be able to care for.

Your social worker will ask you to think about supporting your future adopted child, and the experiences he or she may have had before coming to live with you.

You will also need to think about your feelings towards your child's birth family, the reasons the child needs a new family, and how you would feel about maintaining some level of contact between the child and their birth family.

We will be interested in your reasons for wanting to adopt and want to know about any experience you have with children and childcare, for example, you may have children in your extended family, or you may volunteer at your local school or nursery.

Your social worker will ask if you are planning to return to work, or, for example, reduce your working hours to care for your child.

Your Prospective Adopter Report will be prepared by your social worker.  The sections of this report that can be shared with you will be done so before the report presented to the Adoption Panel.

The Adoption Panel

Our independent Adoption Panel will review the information prepared by your social worker and consider it in detail. The panel should receive all the necessary information from us within six weeks of the completion of the social worker's report. You would then normally be invited to attend the Panel meeting should you wish to do so.

The Adoption Panel is made up of adoption experts and experienced adopters and is chaired by a person independent of the two councils. It is their job to make a recommendation on your suitability to be an adoptive parent. The panel meet to consider all the evidence presented to them and then make a recommendation back to us.

Making a decision

Once the Adoption Panel have made a recommendation our Adoption Decision Maker will decide if you are suitable to adopt. The Decision Maker is a nominated person who has the legal responsibility to make an approval decision. In most circumstances this decision is to accept the Adoption Panel's recommendation.

The search begins

Once you have been approved you are now a 'Prospective Adopter'. We will now look at the children needing an adoptive family and consider which one's needs would best be met in your family.

Appeals - what to do if you don't agree

We generally try to ensure that the applicants that we accept for assessment have the experience and strengths that would enable them to meet the needs of the children who are waiting to be adopted.

If for some reason your application is not approved by the Agency Decision Maker and you disagree with the reasons for their decision, you may request that it is reconsidered.

You can also request that your application is considered by the 'Independent Review Mechanism' (IRM), an independent body. In these cases, the IRM undertakes a review of your application and then makes recommendations to us.

It is then up to the Decision Maker to make a final decision.

Matching you with a child/children

Once you have been approved as a prospective adopter by the Adoption Panel, we will then begin the process of matching you with a child. We will draw up a 'Matching Plan' to help us to work together to identify and successfully match you with a child or children.

Sometimes there may not be an appropriate 'match' for a child with you in Cumbria Adoption, so we may need to look further afield.  We will expand the search to find the right match for a child and for you.

Find out a bit more about our Family Finders.

Link Maker

If you have not been matched with a child within three months of being approved, we will discuss with you whether you wish to place your details on Link Maker. 

This site holds information on children waiting to be adopted throughout England and Wales, and of approved prospective adopters who are available and able to meet the needs of different children.

You can also refer yourself to Link Maker three months after being approved to adopt.

Suitable Match

When you are identified as a potentially suitable prospective adopter for a specific child, we will provide you with all the information you need about the child, including a background report and medical information.

If, once you have read this information, you are happy to proceed, you will then be visited by the child's social worker, and have the opportunity to meet the child's foster carer and any other relevant health and education professionals.

In addition to receiving the child's Adoption Medical Report you will also have the opportunity to have a discussion with Cumbria Adoption's agency medical adviser.

We will draw up an 'Adoption Placement Report' which sets out a list of all the relevant factors which give us confidence you will meet the needs of the child and an 'Adoption Support Plan' which will detail the support the child and you will need and who will provide this.

Any specific needs the child may have, such as contact with birth families or medical conditions, will be included.

You will also be provided with a 'Parental Responsibility Agreement' which will clarify what decisions you are able to make in respect of the child up until the making of the final 'Adoption Order' by the court, and which will need the permission of the Local Authority. 

Prior to the Adoption Panel a draft 'Adoption Placement Plan' will be shared with you which includes a programme of introductions between you and the child.  

This will be finalised at the 'Adoption Placement Planning' meeting which is held following Panel but only after the Decision Maker has agreed the match. You will be delegated day-to-day parental responsibilities for the child by Cumbria Adoption. The introductions will vary considerably depending on such factors such as the child's experiences, age and understanding.

These arrangements are planned to best meet the needs of the child and will be reviewed during this period to ensure the plan continues to meet the child's needs and to confirm the date of placement.

Once the child is placed in your care the child's social worker will visit weekly until the first 'Child Looked After' review meeting which will take place within four weeks. Your own social worker will also visit. We want to ensure that the child is settling in your care and you are all receiving the support you need.

Following this you and the child will have regular support visits and further Child Looked After reviews to make sure everything is going well and that you are receiving the support you need. You will receive a 'Life Story Book' for your child to help them understand their early life.

Making the adoption legal 

During this period of learning to live together, a social worker will continue to visit you and support you. After the child or children have been placed with you for 10 weeks you can apply to the courts for an Adoption Order. Your social worker will support you in making your application when they agree the time is right.  

Once you have applied for an Adoption Order and this is granted by the court, the child is legally adopted by you and you have full parental responsibilities for him or her.

The child is now a full member of your family. 

Ongoing support

Cumbria Adoption offers a comprehensive Adoption Support service which you can access at any time following approval as an adopter and once an Adoption Order is granted. We offer a yearly calendar of events and you can choose to attend the events suitable for your family.

You will receive post-adoption support from us.  Every family's needs are unique and support is tailored accordingly.