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Adopting as a Foster Carer

BeckyAUK October 11, 2019 10:59

Just wondering if there are any others out there who, like me, adopted children you were fostering already, either as a foster carer first, or via foster for adoption? I expect we have plenty of experiences in common and, you never know, we might be able to create a useful thread for others thinking of doing the same!

Edited 17/02/2021
Foster to Adopt November 26, 2019 18:05

Hi. We have just begun our foster to adopt journey. We went to panel on 25/10 and then last week we had a 4 month old baby placed with us. It has been so exciting but also a huge culture shock. It would be nice to chat to others who are going through this or planning on. I found that there was little information on foster to adopt other than speaking to people who have done it. Would be nice to start a thread both to support myself and baby and offer advice to potential foster to adopters.

Edited 17/02/2021
BeckyAUK November 27, 2019 11:26

Hi Foster to Adopt - congratulations on panel and the new LO in your household. I didn't strictly speaking follow the foster to adoption route as I was only approved as a foster carer initially, and then the adoptions came much later, and I then did a full adoption approval process via the usual route, so although I probably share experiences with you around contact, review meetings and all of that, the process itself wasn't quite the same. It would be really great if we could gather a few other foster to adopt people on here to share experiences.

Edited 17/02/2021
Foster2Adopter January 15, 2020 23:18

Hi BeckyAUK - Im currently a Foster Carer and my husband and I are currently in the process of adopting our 2 foster children. We've had a placement order now since August but the Adoption Process has been going very slowly. Hopefully we will be approved by the end of March :-) I just wondered if you could tell me how you went about financial support especially since the legislation states that the local authority may pay a foster carer up to 2 years after adoption. I just want to give the 2 girls we foster and are going to adopt the best start and support they can get with the funds in question. Were you able to access the funds?

Edited 17/02/2021
Bop January 20, 2020 19:43

We fostered first - our three were our third placement and we supposedly were just having them for a one off weekend - that was well over a decade ago!

Been a rollercoaster but currently in smoother waters (but we know that can change pretty quickly!)

Foster2adopter - we got fostering allowances until the adoption order and a few months after - then we were entitled to adoption allowances, but they were means tested. It was several years ago so I suspect the law has since changed and we are also in Scotland which can be different.

Edited 17/02/2021
Squidge May 6, 2020 19:48

I'm absolutely thrilled to have found you guys...

As BeckyAUK & Foster To Adopt say, there's hardly any information on the Foster To Adopt route AKA Concurrent Planning AKA Early Permanence.

Hubby and i are specifically interested in going down this route and wanted to hear about the experiences of those who have already done so - the good, the bad and the ugly please as we want to have as much information as possible to help make a more informed decision about our next steps.

Anyone out there happy to share?

Edited 17/02/2021
bernicen June 5, 2020 09:46

Depends on the situation, if you can parent the child well in terms of financial, physical, and mental aspects, then why not. It will be a wonderful experience.

Edited 17/02/2021
Shanar January 13, 2022 12:33

Hi everyone,

I have a different type of question. My husband and I were contacted by the family finder of a toddler in summer and after a very slow process, they visited us in November. On the day of the visit, they mentioned that the child's foster career has been very keen on adopting the little toddler who had been with them since birth but the local authority rejected their application ( the reasons were confidential) and they said that there is a highly unlikely that the foster carer take this to the court. After the visit, they contacted our social worker, saying that they have chosen us. Since then, there were nearly no communication/updates from them, while we kept contacting our social worker and asking for any news. Finally, our social worker contacted us, a couple of days ago, and mentioned that they are still discussing this with the child's foster carer and the foster carer and seeking a way to change this decision and they plan to take this to the court.

As you can imagine, my husband and I are absolutely disappointed and distressed. We built so much hope and love in the little toddler and feel that we deserved better communication and more explanation. I have a couple of questions:

1- Has anyone had any similar experiences that can share with us?

2- How likely it is that the court can change this decision, considering that the local authority was against that?

3- Does the child's social worker need to define a timeline for the foster carer to make their mind? They have been told about the plan since summer.

Thank you.

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