Are there any health related restrictions for adopting? Expand It is of course imperative that you can effectively care for the child or children that you adopt, but that doesn't mean that a mental or physical health issue - past or present is a barrier. During the adoption process you will be asked to arrange a full medical which will be carried out by your GP and advice will be sought from our medical advisor regarding any issues raised. Our team will be happy happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
Can I adopt if I live in rented accommodation? Expand A loving and stable home is essential for adopted children, but you don't have to own your own home, you can live in rented accommodation. A possible concern would be if potential adopters live in rented accommodation because they move around a lot. Children, especially adopted children, need stability and routine, and it would be difficult to provide this if your lifestyle, work or future plans meant moving house regularly. Our team would be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
Can I adopt if I smoke or vape? Expand If you are a smoker you would be expected to take active steps to stop smoking. The majority of Local Authorities will not place children under the age of five years old in a household where anyone smokes, or even uses e-cigarettes or vapes, and often require adopters to have ceased smoking for a year before being matched with a child. Our team will be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. We would usually suggest someone has stopped smoking or using vapes for 6 months before starting the adoption process with us. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
How important is money and finances when adopting? Expand People often worry that they would need to have lots of savings or a well paid job in order to adopt, and that is not the case. Finances are discussed and looked at as part of the adoption process, but it is 'day to day' finances and disposable income that is more important than having lots of pounds in the bank. We would simply want to understand that you could comfortably support yourself and any child that came to live with you. We wouldn't want to put adopters under financial stress, and of course wouldn't want to place a child - who has already had a difficult start in life - into any form of financial hardship. If you think you have the ability to support a child but worry about the initial costs of adopting, there is a North East pilot running which could provide financial support to a limited number of eligible families. Find out more about the North East Secure Start Pilot and associated financial support packages here.
How long does the UK adoption process take? Expand The adoption process usually takes no longer than six months for you to become approved as an adoptive parent, and ARC has an excellent track record of efficiently approving adopters. It is a little more difficult however, to predict how long it will take to have a child placed with you, because it is important to identify the right match for your family. For some adopters, they can be matched immediately following approval, but for some it takes longer. Our team matches their families with children in the care of local authorities based around England. We have particularly close partnerships with Regional Adoption Agencies including Cumbria Adoption and Adopt Coast to Coast, who we continually work with to identify matches as early as possible. We also work closely with Adoption Tees Valley and Adopt North East. Our team will be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
I already have children, can I still adopt? Expand Yes, definitely. We very much welcome enquiries from people who are already parents. Part of the adoption process will include looking at the effects a placement will have on your current children. Some adopted children would thrive by having a sibling. Our team would be very happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
I am having fertility treatment, can I adopt? Expand In order to begin the adoption process it is important that you have completed any fertility treatment and have had time to emotionally recover from it. Our team will sensitively discuss your individual circumstances with you, to ensure you are ready for moving forward with adoption. We would be happy to offer further guidance around this if it would be helpful. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
I am single, can I adopt? Expand Yes absolutely, ARC Adoption welcomes enquiries from single people. Lots of our adopters are single parents who have successfully adopted one or more children. Something you may want to consider is your support network, thinking about friends and family who will be able to provide you with different types of help and support when you adopt. ARC Adoption North East also provides a wide range of support to adopters including social and online peer support, support groups and a Buddy service. If you would like to know more about adoption with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
I have pets – can I adopt? Expand Many children thrive in a home that has existing family pets, and as long as a pet does not pose a threat to a child’s health or safety then it will not prevent you from adopting. You will be asked to complete a pet questionnaire as part of the assessment process, and our team will be very happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
Is being overweight a barrier to my being accepted as an adopter? Expand Adopters come in all different shapes and sizes, and weight, health, and other lifestyle choices will all be discussed with you during the adoption process. The most important factor is your ability to provide a loving home for a child, and our team will be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
Is there an age limit? Expand The minimum age to be eligible to adopt is 21 years old, and technically there is no upper age limit to adopt a child, although you need to have the potential to care for the child through to adulthood. Our team would be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
We are a same sex couple, can we adopt? Expand Yes of course, At ARC Adoption North East we welcome enquiries from all types of adopters, including all members of the LGBTQ+ community. It may interest you to know that in 2023, almost 1 in 4 of the families who started the process with ARC Adoption were in same sex relationships. Watch Jamie and Tom's story below: All LGBTQ+ parents who adopt through ARC Adoption North East, benefit from our membership to New Family Social, the charity dedicated to LGBTQ+ adoption and fostering. ARC Adoption North East also has a dedicated support team which offers a variety of support to adopters including social and online peer support, support groups and our Buddy service. If you would like to know more about adoption with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
We both work, can we still adopt? Expand Yes, absolutely. We welcome enquiries from people in employment. You will be expected to take some time away from work to help your child settle into your home however, and it will be important for you to consider how you can fit your work commitments around the needs of your child, rather than the other way around. Our team will be happy to talk to you and offer further guidance around this. If you would like to know more about adoption and starting the adoption process with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.
What qualities do you look for in adopters? Expand Our adopters are all very different but the main thing we are looking for is the ability to provide a loving, safe and stable family life for a child or siblings. All children who are in care have experienced a level of trauma in their young lives, so we are looking for people who are understanding and accepting of this, people who are open-minded and flexible, with a willingness to learn how best to support children who are adopted. Adoption is a lifelong commitment too, and being a parent in any form can bring challenges along the way, so within adopters we are also looking for determination and resilience.
What sort of children need to be adopted? Expand There are thousands of children in the UK that are in need of loving and nurturing families, and many of these children are of different ages and come from very different backgrounds. Almost every 'looked after' child (a child who is in care) today will have been removed from their parents, as opposed to being voluntarily relinquished. The children that wait the longest for a loving and nurturing family are usually older children over the age of four, brothers and sisters who need to stay together, children with disabilities, as well as those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Children may have a variety of behavioural and emotional issues due to their early life experiences, which may include some degree of attachment difficulties. This is something that adopters will learn about during training as they progress through the adoption process. If you are considering adopting a baby there are different options available to you, such as Early Permanence. If you would like to know more about adoption with ARC Adoption North East and the support available, please contact us.