Adoption

What is Adoption?

Adoption is when someone can’t live with their birth family and goes to live with another family. Adoption is a way to give children a more permanent family.

The new family will have full responsibility for the child.

Contact with the birth family may happen. That will be decided by a judge in court. It may only be with certain family members and it may not be direct contact but ‘letterbox contact’ (sending letters).

Adoption mostly happens to babies and younger children because it can be easier to settle into a new family at this age.
 

What are my rights?

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 says people over 18 can apply for a copy of their original birth certificate and information about their birth family. They can get this from the adoption agency who arranged the adoption or an adoption support agency.
 

What if my brother or sister is going to be adopted?

It is up to the adopted parents whether they will allow contact to take place between siblings. Social workers encourage adopted parents to allow contact, as it can help settle children more quickly when they keep a connection to their sibling.