How long does the adoption process take?

The adoption process should take around 6 months. In general, the timescale for completion of Stage 1 (from your registration of interest to formal application) – we take this at your pace, but aim to complete it in 2 months.

For Stage 2 (from your assessment to your approval at our adoption panel) again, we would take this at your pace but we aim to complete this stage within 4 months.

However, we are led by your wishes and you can slow this process down at any stage. You will need to be available for several meetings with your assessing social worker during the assessment process. We can arrange for some evening visits if required to suit availability but we cannot solely conduct our assessments outside normal office hours.  Full details of the process can be found here on our website.