Who can adopt?
Age
The youngest age at which people can adopt is 21. What matters to us is matching the right child to the right family.
Many of the children adopted today are older children, above the age of 5 and in sibling groups.
Marital status
Single people can adopt. Also couples in a permanent relationship but who are not married can adopt, although not jointly. This however is likely to change when new adoption law comes in. At the moment children's charities are campaigning to allow all un-married couples the same rights as married couples.
Financial status
There are no set requirements for prospective adopters to be in a certain salarly bracket. Neither do they have to own their own home or have achieved a certain standard of status.
All individual cases will be assessed on the basis of the provisions of financial allowances.
What sort of home?
People in rented accommodation can adopt. The main requirement on housing is having enough room to accommodate a child which basically means they must have their own room.
Criminal convictions
All prospective adopters will undergo full Criminal Records Bureau checks (CRB). People with any offence against a child will not be considered.
People with criminal convictions will be considered, this will depend on the type and circumstances of the offence, how long ago it was committed and what sort of life the person has led since. It is unlikely that a speeding ticket dispensed ten years ago, will bar you from adopting a child.
Gay people
There is nothing in law that prevents gay people from adopting children. The family placement service welcome all applicants and promotes an equal opportunities policy.
Health or disability
We carry out health checks on all prospective adopters. As long as the health problem does not infringe on parenting a child there should not be a problem. The health check helps us identify whether you are in reasonably good mental and physical health.
It is unlikely you will be approved if you have a life-threatening condition that may mean you will not be able to see the child through to adulthood.
Disabled people are not specifically prevented from becoming adopters as long as they can offer the right care and support to an adopted child.
Ethnic minorities
There is a pressing need for more adopters from ethnic minorities. We are always happy to hear from people from ethnic minorities. We are also actively seeking families from dual heritage couples.
We make all attempts to match children to families with the same background to include same race placements.
Contact us
Fostering and Adoption Services in Walsall
106 Essington Road
New Invention
Willenhall WV12 5EX
Enquiries Freephone 0800 923 3706
All other calls 0845 111 2834
Fax 01922 493824
Email familyplacementsservices@walsall.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 22 January 2010