Adoption
Adoption provides a permanent new family for a child when living with their own family is not possible. When a child is adopted by another family, the birth parents give up their legal rights over their child and are not entitled to see their child again.
- What is adoption?
- An explanation of who can adopt, how you can adopt your step-children and information if you want to adopt a child from abroad.
- A step-by-step guide to adoption
- The nine steps you go through to officially adopt a child.
- Support and training for adoptive parents
- Help and advice for parents who have adopted children.
- Tracing your birth parents
- How to trace your birth parents if you have been adopted.
- Fostering
- Fostering is different from adoption, and is where the child’s own parents usually stay in touch with them and have some responsibilities towards them.
- Contact the Adoption and Permanence team
- The team support adoptive and birth families, and people who have been adopted, including help with contact issues. For families, we can provide training and long term support, counselling and financial help where appropriate.
