The adoption process takes children who can no longer live with their birth family and places them in the care of a new family. In the UK there are roughly 4000 children who are seeking to be adopted annually. Children past a certain age and in groups with their brothers and sisters often find it harder to get adopted. Adoption has become one of the most preferred options for couples who cannot have children of their own. When a child is adopted their adoptive parents become their parents by law and thus take on full parental responsibility for the care and well being of the child, their birth parents no longer have any legal rights or responsibilities toward the child.
If you want to adopt in the UK, you have to live in the UK, Channel Island or Isle of Man. You must also be over 21 unless you are partner of one of the parents of the child in which case you only have to be 18. You must also undergo a series of interviews and inspections to ensure that you can provide a safe home for a child.
If you want to adopt a child, you will have to go through an adoption agency. These can be either privately or state run.
If you adopt a child, you will be entitled to statutory adoption leave which works in much the same way as maternity leave. You will have to provide your employer with proof that you are adopting by giving them a copy of your adoption certificate. This can be obtained through your adoption agency.
The adoption process starts with the child that is being put up for adoption and their family being given an in depth background search and after this the agency will do the same to the prospective parents. The prospective parents will also have to explain why they wish to adopt. After the information has been gathered it is sent back to the prospective parents so that they can make statements about it before it is sent off to the adoption panel. The adoption panel look at the information provided by both the child's family and the prospective parents and work out whether adoption would be in the best interests of the child.
If they agree that adoption is the best way to go forward, they will let the prospective parents know and send them the information they received about the child's history and background. The adoption agency will then inform the local authority of the prospective parents that the adoption is about to take place. When the child is finally living with their new family, the adoption agency will carry out regular checks to ensure that they are happy and safe.
A recent addition to lawontheweb.co.uk/Family_Law/Adoption adoption law is the introduction of Special Guardianship Orders. Special guardianship orders are given to long term carers of children to give them parental responsibility and security without removing all responsibility from the child's biological parents.
For more legal advice and information, and for lawontheweb.co.uk/Family_Law free legal resources visit lawontheweb.co.uk
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