Talk

Hi Carrie97

My partner and I have adopted our son and just waiting to adopt a wee sister for him at the moment. It is a great thing to do so well done on starting this journey.

I know that Scottish Adoption Week is starting on 19th November so there will lots of information events throughout Scotland that you will be able to attend. Where in Scotland are you as I know that Scottish Adoption are a great agency but they are based in Edinburgh and only work within a 60 mile radius of their office. If you are within that you should take a look at their events page on their website to see what events they are doing that week. Or just give them a call. Their website is www.scottishadoption.org/events and telephone number is 0131 553 5060.

Happy to answer any questions you have though.

Best of luck
Dave

Hi Carrie, most of the many pages of information on this board are applicable to adoption anywhere in the uk, it’s just the social work and legal processes are slightly different. And you are quite a long way off worrying about that yet.

So any don’t you read through the boards and ask if you have any specific question ? People are here are generally very friendly .

Actually the Scottish process is quite different both in terminology and practice - I've adopted in Scotland and know the system well professionally. If you post specific questions I'm sure Scottish adopters will answer you.

Indeed the legal and Sw procedures are different as I said. But that’s a tiny tiny part of adoption as a subject .

It’s a bit like saying marriage is different in Scotland. No it’s not really, although the legal aspects of the wedding are different . But that’s a tiny part of making a marriage work for the next 40 years. 99.9% of the issues that affect your next 40 years as a married woman will be identical to those of woman in England.

So many women focus on the detail of the wedding favours and bridesmaid shoes while ignoring the big red flags that say “ don’t marry this man “.

Likewise in adoption, its Ieasy to get caught up with “ do I fill in form A or form B “ . But this is a decisions that will affect you , your partner ( if you have one ) , your existing children , your job, perhaps your mental health, your income and everything about your family life , for the rest of your life.

Once you start the process you can get caught up in it. It feels like Form A or B are the most important thing. So it’s good to consider the bigger issues at the start, IMHO. And these are the same for most adopters in the UK.

If don’t want the OP to think that most of the valuable info on the board isn’t relevant to her. Because it nearly all is.

I hope the OP will come back with her specific questions.

I guess it’s just a differences of perspective . When you are doing a home study or waiting or your children have just been placed and you are in the thick of the paperwork and legal stuff, then Scotland may seem very different than England and Wales.

But 10 years down the line your issues may be the same as American or Irish adopters. So when you’ve been involved in adoption for more than 40 years, you see the similarities rather than the differences.

Here’s some links OP

www.scotlandsadoptionregister.org.uk/who-can-adopt-in-scotland/

www.adoptionuk.org/scotland

www.scottishadoption.org/

www.barnardos.org.uk/fosteringandadoption/adoption/how-to-adopt-a-child/how-to-adopt-a-child-in-scotland.htm

I don't disagree that the parenting issues are the same -of course they are - and there is so
much useful stuff here but at the start of the process the legal, cultural, education processes are often at the forefront and knowing the lie of the land, terminology etc helps.

I completely agree, it’s a huge help.

It’s not either / or, it’s both.