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Hi buttercup81Mine seemed ages! We got first basic info in April, we have been chasing this over and over, and finally got proper report at the end of May. We had sw and ff visit at the end of June, then linking meeting 9 July, seeing fc on the 31 july, panel 22 august.

Mine was similar, initially saw CPR in Oct, link meeting Nov and agreed to link Dec. Matching panel March, intros May.

We saw the CPR in Feb and after a few court hickups went to matching panel end of April and placed beginning of May....

How exciting!!!! Eek!We heard about our little one on 5th July and got the full report the same day, then with her social worker on 16th July. Matching panel is booked for 28 th Aug and intro's on 4 th September. (If it all goes smoothly of course)!!!Best of luck with everythingBerryBeanLinked to a beautiful 11 month baby girl!

5 months for us!Profile in March, link meeting April, MP June, home 2 days ago

Oh Buttercup, it really is like pieces of string, this one.To illustrate, with our first adoption the 'link' happened in sept 2010, then due to SS mucking about delaying proceedings for him MP was sept 2011!! Truly awful, the worst year of our lives. Now with our second adoption we were linked on our approval date (July 4th 2013) and MP is scheduled for sept 5th (2013). It would have been even quicker if we hadn't already booked a fortnight's family holiday in August.My biggest tip is, watch out for links where SS do not have a placement order yet and want to link you anyway.It can, and does, all go horribly wrong for the adopters sometimes.Having said that, our son is the most awesome kid in the world and we would wait over a year for him all over again.Good luck,Witch

Hi everyonethanks for the adviceWe cant give too much info but the top and bottom of it is the sibling group we are very interested in were identified by us at an activity daythey have won our hearts already and initial talks with foster carer and social worker at this event made it all seem like the 'real deal'anyhow we have been informed they are very impressed with us and have requested our PAR yesterday (quick in our minds) however the family finder leaves today So now we wont hear anything until a new family finder is allocated.Does anyone know how long this can take???We are hoping not long as we seem keen and so do they - we are yet to see the CPR however we have been informed they are fairly straight forward siblings with regards to health etc.Very nerve wracking times - i am finding i cant get them out of my head - and i know DH is struggling with the wait!Buttercup

It does all sound very positive doesn't i but - and I hope this doesn't sound patronising - I would take everything they say with a rather large pinch of salt, particularly without seeing the CPR. I'm guessing if they were at an activity day then they may have been slightly older children, rather than babies/toddlers? We're they there because they are classed as harder to place? Sw and FC may be right and they may well be straightforward but given that they will have a trauma history ( possibly a trauma bond - any sibling assessment done?) then they're unlikely to have come through unscathed.Who knows how long it will take to appoint a family finder - maybe in the meantime you could ask to see the CPR to make sure it's up to date? Also medical history, physical, emotional and mental?

Hi DonatellaThanks for your post, not patronising at all very informativeThe CPR is now with our social worker but until she has received the feedback from our PAR which they only got yesterday we can't see it! :-(The children at the activity day ranged from 10 months - 9 years and we are approved for sibling group of 2 aged 0-3 they do fit into our approved criteria! The sibling assessment is definitely on my list of questions for when we do get the CPR Thanks Buttercup

Saw LO's CPR at beginning of June. Had link meeting and was linked beginning of July.Matching Panel booked for end of September.

Reading these posts has confused me because it conflicts with what my sw has told me.I was recently approved, and my sw wants to have a child placed with me by october, but i see here its taken some people months after being matched and i havn't been matched yet.I have been told that this is the hardest part, having to wait now that i'm approved and it really is proving difficult (i feel like im going stir crazy, i keep finding little jobs to do to keep my mind occupied).I didn't want to start my own thread to ask the same question and you've all pretty much given the same time frame. I just wanted to say thanks to buttercup for asking the same questions i wanted to ask and thanks to everyone else for answering

Hi Varl,You're absolutely right - the waiting is definitely the hardest part. Our timescales have been very similar to others here - approved in Feb, linked earlier this month () and hoping to go to MP in September. The waiting is really tough, so we're trying to fill the time with stuff we won't be able to do once the LO arrives. Do try to keep strong, and on the upside, if it's little jobs around the house that you're doing to keep occupied, I'm sure it'll look fantastic by the time you get that visit from a LO's SW!

lol, thanks Carbon, at this rate though, im going to be going and doing little jobs for the neighbours too!My sw is still adamant that she wants a child placed with me before november, but i havnt been matched still. Its good being able to read through the forums though and get ideas etc from others.

We are in exactly the same position Buttercup And feeling a tad frustrated.Went to activity day, really taken with an Lo. Chat with Fc and Sw seemed really positive so we put forward our interest. Apparently we cant see the CPR untill they have read all the PARs of interested adopters and picked which family to proceed with. This seems premature when the interest has come from an activity day and no one has actually seen the CPR. Just crossing our fingers and hoping we at least get the chance to find out more info. Good luck. Wig. Xx

We're also in a similar place, we were sent a potential link 6 weeks ago on Wednesday and the children's sw still hasn't read our PAR, similar to you WIGmthey won't sent us the CPRs until they've decided they want to visit us, but in my experience in reading CPRs we may not be interested, it seems like such a back to front way of doing things, why can't they just review the PARs of those that are interested and perhaps the process would be quicker! The SW's manager has promised some more info early next week, hopefully they'll keep that promis.

I agree Vanilla pod. This way of doing things will only slow the whole process down. Initial interest is expressed based on wanting more info. Only then the deliberation can begin and that could take weeks before it may be decided not to persue the link. By then the other interested adopters may have moved onto a different link.

Hi everyoneThanks for all you responses - good to hear we are not on our own with this waiting around - hahaWell i had a long chat with social worker on friday afternoon and I practically said, in a very nice way, that the process seems backwards. It was justified with the fact that the childrens information is highly confidential, Apparently our social worker has a copy of the childrens CPR however she wont waste her time reading it until she has been told we are the only couple in the running, the Family finder needs to decide this from the interested PARs, only then will she read it and IF she feels it is a good match will it be shared with prospective adopters.I can kind of understand why they do it that way, but at the same time its so frustrating when you are on our end of it - when i said it seemed very long winded she said that she understood adopters frustrations but as we could bump into these children in the future it is vital to share their info with as few people as possible.Anyway guys and gals the waiting continues, can only hope we hear something soon! Keep us posted, for anyone else waiting for that longed for CPR!Buttercup x

Our SW saw us mid-July and brought us a basic profile and we agreed we were interested in the child. The agency are having a meeting this week to decide if they will officially "link" us at which point we will see the CPR and I am due to see the SW at the end of the week to discuss anything coming from the CPR. Our initial MP date was aiming for end of August but due to various holidays of people involved we are now aiming for mid-September.Providing we are linked/matched I see the medical advisor mid-August to discuss any health issues the child has and then at some point we need to see the child's SW and the child's FCs.We are just praying they officially link/match us as we have already started to fall for him just from the basic report/photo and few minutes of DVD.Buttercup81 I am really surprised there were actual physical children there for you to see considering how understandably tight they are regarding the identity and security of children still in the care system. I wonder what they told the children with regards to who all these adult strangers were.

Hi spideress,go on the BAAF website and type in adoption activity days, they are the "NEW" thing.Apparently tried and tested in american they are proven to have much lower disruption rates (as you can look for a 'click' with the child/ren)This was the first in our area and going forward they are going to be run quarterly - apparently the trial was done for 12 months in nottinghamshire and it produced 29 successful matches amongst the children who attended.The children are told it is a fun activity day for them to play and meet children in the same position as them, waiting for a new family. The older ones who have a better understanding and whose foster families believe they could manage are told that the activity day is to help their social workers understand what they like to help them find the perfect family. The days are themed (ours was disney theme) and all the children dress up, foster carers, social workers and approved adopters can also dress up but given the heat most of us took a token accessory, we got disney tshirts and mickey mouse ears.We have fell in love with the children we met and 'clicked' with and cant wait to hear if we have been linked. They seemed to take to us too and we were observed by all advocates for the children!Will keep you all posted as and when or if we hear! Buttercup xx