What happens when I apply?
First of all we will arrange to meet you. An Adoption Social Worker and a member of the Sahara Adoption and Fostering project team will come to visit you in your home, provide more information and answer any questions you may have.
If you decide you want to go ahead and meet all of the criteria, we will give you all the help and guidance you need.
You will be invited to attend a preparation group, which is a training course for all prospective adopters. This will be held in your local area, and will help you to learn about adoption in more detail You will also be able to meet other applicants in a similar position.
If you decide to apply, you will be assigned your own Adoption Social Worker who will work with you to undertake a very thorough assessment of you and your family. This can take up to six months on average.
At the end of the assessment period, a report will be prepared and presented to a local authority panel The report will make a recommendation about your approval as adopters, but the panel which will make the final decision which will need to be ratified by the Agency Decision maker, who is usually a senior manager in Children's Social Care.
Throughout the whole process you will be well supported by your Social Worker.Once you are approved as an adoptive parent the process of matching you to a child can take from a few weeks to more than a year.
The Sahara team will continue to support you for as long as you need us, so you and your child get the best possible start together.
When you have been matched with a child, paid adoption leave, similar to maternity leave is now available to you, and in certain situations financial support is available.
It could not be a better time to be thinking about adopting a Black Minority Ethnic child or children.
