Thinking about adopting?

There is no such thing as a typical adopter,  In order to meet the diverse needs of the children available for adoption in Gloucestershire we are actively looking for a wide variety of applicants including:

• Married couples or couples living together in a stable relationship for at last two years
• Same sex couples living together in a stable relationship for at least two years
• Single people
• People from diverse ethnic and religious groups

We do not discriminate on the grounds of class, culture, disability, race or sexual orientation. All that we ask is that you can:

• Offer commitment to a child
• Offer a stable, secure, safe and loving home into adulthood
• Be open to your child about adoption
• Allow your child to discover their own identity, culture and origins
• Offer patience, flexibility and a willingness to work with others to identify and meet a child's needs.

Adopters are now approved within six months of accepting their application to adopt and we also fast track second time adopters and foster carers within three months wherever possible.

In most cases children needing adoption are already in care and placed with foster carers.

There are babies, toddlers, sibling groups and older children who need to be adopted. Some of these children also have disabilities and/or learning difficulties.

In all cases there are a  number of reasons why children are being placed for adoption. It could be that their birth parents cannot cope or the situation at home is unsuitable. Some children have been neglected or abused physically, emotionally or sexually.

 All of this means that adoption can be challenging and it may be necessary for you to receive support.

Children currently waiting

The profile below is based on a brother and sister currently awaiting adoption in Gloucestershire, if you feel able to offer them a forever home, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01452 427753.

You may have heard the term Early Permanence (EP) being used in adoption (also known as Foster to Adopt). EP is where children are placed with adopters who are also approved as foster carers. Children can therefore be placed with their potential permanent carers at the earliest opportunity; they will foster the child to begin with and may then be able to become their adopters once court proceedings have been concluded. EP placements are most often used for babies and young children who come into care where is high risk of them being unable to return safely to their birth families. They are sometimes also appropriate for older children and sibling groups. 

Children that are considered for an EP placement are those children that they are likely to need adoption, but still have a chance of being reunited with their birth family. If the court process decides that a child’s future needs are best met by adoption,  the child can then go on to be adopted by their foster carers who they have already started to form a secure attachment with.

Research shows that the longer the delay is for children, and the more foster placements that they have, the greater the potential damage their is to a child’s mental and physical health and development. EP placements, which reduce the need for instability and multiple placements, lays the foundations for greatly improved health and emotional wellbeing throughout a child’s life by providing stability during a child’s vital early years.

We are dedicated to offering adopters post adoption support and advice as well as training packages which meet their individual needs. We have also increased the range of regular support groups we offer adoptive families. This includes an under five's group, a group for adopted children between the ages of five and fifteen and a dad's group. We also offer additional support groups based round the county so that they are accessible to all adopters. All our services are listed on the 'services we provide' insert (PDF download on the right). We are continually committed to improving our services and hope you will be impressed with our team and what we can offer.