Page contents
- How Fostering and Adoption work together
- What is Foster to Adopt?
- Why Foster to Adopt matters
- From Foster Care to Adoption
- Understanding the legal process and risks
- Interested in fostering or adopting?
How Fostering and Adoption work together
When a child is unable to live safely with their birth family, local authorities have a legal duty to safeguard their wellbeing. This often involves placing the child in care, either with a foster carer or a family member, while the Court decides on their long-term future.
Adoption in Surrey is though the Adoption South East team and if you wish to look into any form of adoption, please contact them on the details below.
What is Foster to Adopt?
Foster to Adopt is a child-focused approach that bridges fostering and adoption. It allows children to be placed with carers who are approved as both foster carers and adopters, even before the Court has made a final decision about adoption.
Initially, the child is cared for under fostering regulations. If the Court later grants a Placement Order, the carers can go on to adopt the child, meaning the child remains with the same family throughout. This reduces the number of moves a child experiences and supports early bonding and emotional stability.
Foster to Adopt is considered when:
- A child is unlikely to return to their birth family
- A baby’s parents have requested adoption
- A baby’s parents are in care themselves
- A child is joining siblings already placed for adoption
Why Foster to Adopt matters
Foster to Adopt gives children the chance to start life with their permanent family as early as possible. It avoids the disruption of multiple placements and helps children form secure attachments during a critical stage of development.
If you’re considering adoption and are open to the Foster to Adopt route, the Adoption South East team can guide you through the assessment and approval process.
Foster to adopt aims to reduce the number of moves a child might have before they are legally adopted. The child or children are placed with carers who have been approved as both foster carers and adoptive parents. The child is initially cared for under fostering regulations. When the child is ready to be adopted, they will remain with the same family and the status will change from foster carers to adoptive parents. If you are interested in foster to adopt, please contact the adoption team as you will need to be assessed and approved as an adopter.
It is helpful to seek legal advice, to help you understand the implications of an adoption order. Coram Children's Legal Centre is one example of where legal advice can be sought. Where legal advice is not free, you must fund this yourself.
From Foster Care to Adoption
If it becomes clear that a child cannot return home or be cared for within their extended family, the Court may issue a Placement Order. This legal order allows the child to be placed with an adoptive family. At this stage, the child’s social workers begin the matching process, carefully selecting adopters who can meet the child’s needs and provide a stable, loving home.
Once a match is made, the child is supported to move in with their new family. Social workers continue to offer guidance and support during this transition to ensure the child settles well. After a minimum of ten weeks, the adoptive family can apply to the Court for an Adoption Order, which grants them full parental responsibility.
Understanding the legal process and risks
While Foster to Adopt offers many benefits, it also involves some uncertainty. The Court must ensure that birth parents and extended family have every reasonable opportunity to care for the child. In some cases, a relative may come forward late in the legal process, and the local authority must explore this option.
Prospective Foster to Adopt carers are fully informed of these risks and supported throughout the process. Many adopters feel that the opportunity to provide a child with stability from the very beginning is worth the uncertainty.
Interested in fostering or adopting?
If you want to make a lasting difference in a child’s life, fostering or Foster to Adopt could be the right path for you. Whether you're already considering adoption or want to explore how fostering fits into the journey, we can help you understand your options.