Adoption
The Adoption and Fostering Team provides a comprehensive adoption service. Contact us for information and advice on all aspects of adoption. We recruit and assess adopters and provide post-adoption support and birth records counselling. We can also undertake relative / step parent adoptions for RBK residents and intercountry home studies.
In Kingston upon Thames we need adopters with whom we can match our children. But most of them need a new start in life, away from their birthplace, outside the borough, to avoid practical problems which may arise if the birth and adoptive families live in the same neighbourhood.
Brothers and sisters
One of the biggest fears of vulnerable children is that they may be separated from their brothers or sisters. Most of the children who need a new mum or dad already have close siblings and they usually need to be placed together. So adopters are much more likely to find a family if they are willing and able to offer a home to two or more brothers and sisters.
Babies
Some girls and boys who need to be adopted are under a year-old. But society accepts more nowadays that single parents can be supported to keep their babies and unwanted pregnancies are more rare. Parents of babies needing adoption are more likely to have serious substance abuse problems, mental health issues or a significant learning disability. These things make the future development of little ones an unknown quantity but their lives are no less valuable.
Reality
People who have had to suffer the distress of infertility, may have to shift their expectations to accommodate the age and backgrounds of children who actually need a loving adoptive family.
Adoption today is about meeting the needs of a child who has not had the best start in life. But it can be these children who offer the biggest rewards to the new parent. These children can thrive and flourish when offered the care and stability of an adoptive family they so badly need.
Who can adopt?
Could you be the person to unlock the potential in a child desperate to shine? Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames welcomes applications from more mature people – individuals and couples - with and without childcare experience. Same-sex couples nowadays are given equal consideration and support to that of heterosexual adopters.
Background of adoptive children
Children may end up in their situation for a whole host of reasons. Older children have often been neglected by their birth parents and sometimes emotionally, physically or sexually abused. Parents may have died or be unable to cope due to long-term drug or alcohol addiction. Years ago, some of these 5 or 6 -year-olds, would have spent the rest of their childhood in a Children’s Home. Today, we try to match them with a new family who can nurture them and offer security.
What to do next
If you live in Kingston upon Thames…
If you are a Royal Borough of Kingston resident we can offer you an information appointment with an adoption social worker, to assist you in considering your options including approaching adoption agencies outside the area.
If you live outside Kingston upon Thames…
If you live up to two hours’ journey from Kingston and meet the matching criteria of children we have to place, then we would offer you an appointment with an adoption social worker within four weeks.
Our aim is to explore your ability to meet the needs of the children we have to place, part of which will include discussing whether adoption is right for you now and whether Kingston is the best agency for you. Where possible we will progress your application for adoption preparation course and home study without delay.
Call us on 020 8547 6042 or email adoption@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
Any more questions?
The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) have a free information pack, which you can request by calling 08450 560120.
For more information: call 020 8547 6042, complete our Adopter Form, or email adoption@rbk.kingston.gov.uk