A number of people in Scotland each year choose to adopt domestically. The processes of applying to adopt a child can be very stressful and emotional for some. During the process there is an emphasis on personal information e.g. your childhood, being asked to support your application to adopt and why you think you would be a good parent. For further information on adopting a child in Scotland we would advise you to contact your local authority social work department for further advice on the processes involved in adoption. Please click here for contact details for your local authority.
Children who are available for adoption in Scotland are in need of a permanent family who will provide a safe, secure and stable home. As explained below the recent Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 now allows joint adoption by both unmarried and same sex couples, to provide the local authority with more opportunities, to provide a child with a safe, secure and stable home they require which may lead to them being a successful and responsible adult in later life..
Children who are available for adoption by the local authority will proceed where:
· The child cannot be cared for in any suitable manner by his/her parents;
· The adoption would be in the best interests of the child; and
· The adopter has been assessed as eligible and suitable to adopt by an adoption agency
Adoption is a legal process which replaces a child's birth parents with new adoptive parents. Children who are adopted will almost always have been looked after by the local authority, except where a step-parent adopts the child(ren) of their partner or in the case of intercountry adoptions from outside the United Kingdom. Adoption services are regulated by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.
There is support available for adoption placements as well as foster carers and this was a major theme of the first phase of the Adoption Policy Review and was also considered in the second phase ( Adoption Policy Review Group - report phase II). One of the major recommendations of the Review Group was that there should be an improved legal framework for, and better delivery of, adoption support services and the then Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) agreed with this recommendation. The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 27 March 2006, the Bill became an Act on 15th January 2007, makes provision for a statutory range of adoption services for people affected by adoption.
The provisions in the Bill included:
· placing a duty on local authorities to make available a wide range of support services to people affected by adoption and to make people aware of such services at an early stage in the adoption process.
· replacing existing court orders with a single permanence order which will be flexible enough to cater for the changing needs of individual children;
· allowing joint adoption by unmarried couples (including same-sex couples);
· removing the absolute ban on natural parents applying for contact after adoption, whilst putting in place safeguards to ensure this only happens if it is in the child's best interests;
· better adoption support services for people affected by adoption;
· clear rights to information about adoption for those involved including birth parents, siblings, grandparents, members of the wider birth family and people involved in the child's life to the point of adoption even if not a relative;
· additional safeguards for intercountry adoption and the power for Scottish Ministers to charge for processing overseas adoption applications.
The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 which came into effect on 28 September 2009, restates, improves and modernises the previous legal framework for adoption in Scotland, including the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999.
Below is a list of links you may find useful regarding adoption;
British Association of Adoption and Fostering - http://www.baaf.org.uk/local/scot/index.shtml
Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2007/asp_20070004_en_1
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1995/ukpga_19950036_en_1
The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 - http://www.oqps.gov.uk/legislation/ssi/ssi2009/ssi_20090210_en_1
Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1999/ukpga_19990018_en_1
The Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) Regulations 2009 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2009/ssi_20090182_en_1
However should you wish to seek further advice regarding adoption please speak with your local authority social work department or adoption agency.
For further information on Intercountry Adoption please click here.
Any other queries please use the contact details below;
Scottish Government
Adoption, Fostering and Permanence Team
Area 2A (N)
Victoria Quay
Leith
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131 244 4078
Fax: 0131 244 0978