First adoption meeting, what to expect?

[Sillyshell]

Hi

DH has very low sperm count, and after an unsucessful SSR we are looking to go down the adoption route as he doesnt feel the he would be able to cope with donation.

I have been in contact with Barnardos and we are going to an information meeting in a couple of months. I just wondered if anyone has any experience of adopting with Barnardos and what these meetings are like?

Thanks

Informations evening really are just that - something like a powerpoint presentation, and a talk from the Social Workers, and possibly an adopter who's been through it all. Be prepared for it to be a bit pessimistic. If you're still interested after that then a SW will come out to you for an initial visit.

I went through a Local Authority (not my own - they only take out of borough), but got an information pack from Barnardos. We decided against them as it seemed they mainly deal with sibling groups, and harder to place children.

There's nothing to stop you going to as many information evenings as you like and choosing the one you like best and feel most comfortable with.

Thanks for your reply. We have contacted our LA, but they havent got back to us with any info yet, but it's good to know we could go to both if we wanted.

Barnardoes are an excellent agency , far far better than most local authorities. But they do specialise in hard to place children. If you want a Healthy child under 5 you will probably need to be approved by your local authority

sillyshell Hi, we are only really at the very start but have attended a meeting at our local authority for adoption. It was a powerpoint and talk, coffee, biscuits and a time to ask questions openly or quietly with a social worker. It was very low key and unthreatening. They were quite open about the kind of children who are in care and reasons why they might come into care, if I remember rightly. It was a useful time to ask questions and I quite enjoyed it.

Hope things will go smoothly.

Yes, what others have said about the evening (be prepared to come away feeling a bit deflated about how difficult and awful it all is - they are "testing" you to see if you have the will to go through the process)

You might want to explore your other options re agencies - some LA will only take people resident within their boundaries, some only those living elsewhere, some have a recruitment cycle that you need to get into at the right point.

Hope it goes well

Thank you for your replys. Our LA have come back to me to say that their recuritment is on hold until further notice which isnt very helpful! They have given me a list of other agencies so I think I will contact some of them to see if they can help.

Now we've made this decision I just want to get on with it, but I guess I'm going to have to learn to be patient cause it's not a quick process!

thanks again

Hi there and delighted to hear you are looking at adoption
I would advise you to meet several agencies. We met 7 and whittled them down on our criteria. You have to spend several months with them, sharing personal information. We took the approach that this was our chance to interview and select them - not just them assessing us!
It doesn't have to take that long - we had our training in November, started our homestudy in January and were approved start of May. We are waiting for a match now - which will take as long as it takes. For us when the process started it went so quickly.
Just wanted to say, best wishes too
W

Hi Wendy

Thank you for your reply and the good wishes! Finders crossed you get your match soon.