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Cc initial adoption

choosing to adopt is one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make in your life and it won't be surprising to feel overwhelmed at the start of it my name's sue and I'm the chief executive of adoption UK the charity that speaks out for adopters and I'm here to explain the process so that you can understand a little bit more about it [Music] what I'm going to tell you relates to the adoption process in England for those of you that live in Wales Scotland or Northern Ireland's there are links in the description that will direct you to information about adopting in those countries so let's talk a little bit about adoption first in order to become an adopter you need to be at least 21 you need to have lived in the UK for 12 months or more and of course you need not to have had any cautions or convictions for offences against children or any serious sexual offences who can adopt everybody else you can be married you can be single you can be a same-sex adopter you can be a heterosexual adopter it's also worth understanding a little bit more about why some children need to be adopted most children who have an adoption plan have had a very difficult start in life and they were removed from families who are unable to look after them we particularly need adopters to come forward to offer a home for the children who wait the longest in care and those are children who are in sibling groups slightly older and perhaps five or more or from minority ethnic groups still interested in adoption [Music] then the next stage is to find yourself an adoption agency you can adopt two ways one through a voluntary adoption agency which is an independent agency or through a local authority it's worth knowing that local authorities are gradually moving into what are called regional adoption agencies so you might see that name as well once you've chosen your agency you start a two-stage approvals process towards being approved as an adopter the overall process should take around six months in stage one which takes about two months the agency staff will work with you to explore your family in your background do a medical assessment to make sure that you're fit to parents and also undertake a criminal records check the agency will work with you to explore which kinds of children you could provide a home for in any limitations on your part or preferences that you may have you'll also need to provide three referees who can vouch for you some prospective adopters do find this to be a very intrusive process and that's because it is but it's worth bearing in mind that all these checks are done with the safety and well-being of your future child in mind Stage two takes about four months during stage two you will be undergoing training and...