After you have completed the preparation groups you will be allocated one of our Social Workers to complete your Home Study Assessment.

We understand that, after prep groups, people are keen to get started. We therefore aim to allocate you a worker within two weeks of your application being accepted.

Everyone is individual. Each assessment will therefore be different and will have different issues to be covered. We therefore cannot give any guarantee as to how long your assessment will take, however, typically this should take around 6 months.

During the assessment your worker will spend time with you, both individually and as a couple (where applicable). This will give them a chance to really get to know about you, your life and what you have to offer. It will also give you a chance to really think through your wish to adopt and begin to consider the child or children you could consider caring for. For example;

• Could you consider a sibling group?
• Could you consider a child affected by disability or by parental substance misuse?
• What if the plan is for a child to have continued contact with their birth parents?

Throughout your assessment your worker will help you to think through the many questions that are likely to arise as you go through the adoption process.

As well as meeting with yourself, we will undertake a range of additional checks including:

• Enhanced Disclosure checks.
• Personal references.
• A reference from your current employer.
• If you have ever worked or volunteered with children or vulnerable adults we will also seek a reference.
• A Medical Assessment completed by your GP.

By the end of your assessment, your worker will make a recommendation as to whether you should be approved as prospective adoptive parents. This recommendation will include the number and ages of children for which you should be approved.

Although people can initially find the thought of undertaking their assessment quite daunting, feedback regarding their experience of the process tends to be very positive.