Can we adopt cousins daughter whose already in pre adoptive placement?

[AnnieBee1]

We have only just found out my cousin had a daughter who has been in foster care for two years (with a prospective adoptive family for two months). We have never been contacted by social services to ask if we would care for her but when I spoke to her social worker two weeks ago she took lots of details and is doing background checks. As far as I know the social services don't yet have legal authority to adopt the child yet but there's a court date this month.

Are we too late to offer her a family? What should we do? This is so difficult to think that our blood relative will be outwits the family forever ?

I don't disagree chicklette. I just wonder whether some kind of extended contact order might provide the ability to fill in those blanks without the major trauma of yet another move. It's a really awful choice tbh but it sounds as though you are approaching it well op.

But ss should have found out about you and approached you in the first place. Them all this heartbreak could have been avoided.

Annie no advice from me but all the best for this. I hope the right decision will be made and you will feel peace with whatever that decision is.

Social Work will be required to carry out a kinship assessment of yourself and your partner and will make a decision whether to proceed with placing the child with you or proceeding with permanence.

The child will currently be on a supervision order through the children's hearing system and depending on the stage the panel may have given adoption advice to the sheriff. If the child is currently living with the prospective adopters it would be more likely that the adopters are petitioning the court directly for adoption.

The sheriff will set a court date for a preliminary hearing and will ask social work to provide an adoption report. Social Work have a legal duty to gain the views of the wider family in relation to the adoption and assess any potential kinship placements. If a suitable kinship placement is available then this should take preference over an adoptive placement. As you have said prospective adopters are only acting as foster carers at present.

However, the prospective adopters have a child legally placed by supervision order with them and they will be legally represented so could challenge any attempt to verify the supervision order through the children's hearing (and ultimately the sheriff court). Basically, it could get messy as it is at such a late stage but you'd have a strong legal argument. My advice would definitely be to seek legal advice from good family lawyers (criminal lawyers have started doing family law coz of legal aid changes and are often very poor at it).

If the child is placed for adoption you will have the opportunity to write letters and send photos at the start. It is unlikely they would consider direct contact if you have never previously had contact. Letterbox contact may be an option. This will be considered through adoption hearing in court- sometimes it will be written into the order, other times it will be a voluntary agreement with social work. Letterbox contact does not necessarily mean the child will receive a letter every year but rather will receive info at a time that is appropriate for them, when they are ready to learn about their biological family. You may receive a letter with updates one a year, sharing photos of the child may bit be considered safe if it is thought it could compromise the placement.

What is in the best interest of the at this stage is difficult to assess but legally a kinship placement is preferable to adoption. It is my view, however, that the local authority will likely do anything they can to prevent another move for the child at this late stage.

again- seek proper legal advice

The only thing I woudl add to medium plates excellent post is that it's very very rare to have contract written into the adoption order, and almost certainly wouldn't be granted for a second counsin who has never met the child .