Adoption and Benefits

[Fairy2015]

Hello, I have a 3 year old child (biological) and would like to adopt a child into our home.

I am a single mother and currently claiming income support, tax credits, child benefit and housing benefit. I will lose income support when my son turns 5, but am wondering if I am able to claim income support if I adopt a young child?

I am looking into concurrency at the moment.

Any help/experience of adoption + benefits would be welcome, I just need to work out if I would be required to work or if I can spend time with baby like I have my own.

You would be eligible for income support for an adopted child in same way as a birth child. You are also eligible for tax credits, child benefit etc and I don't think (but don't know for definite) that housing benefit or any other benefits would be affected.

When your AC reaches school age, if you are still on income support they will only be eligible for one lot of pupil premium (the LAC pupil premium - this is more money than the pupil premium for children on FSM). The school can only claim one lot of PP even if you're eligible for both. You may therefore find this impacts on what financial support the school can provide to you eg subsidised or free school trips, extra curricular clubs etc. which is possibly something to think about. Having said this, some schools are brilliant about recognising the duality of need for pupils who are PP for both LAC and FSM reasons and will bend over backwards to help.

Being a single parent is hard. Being a single adoptive parent is even harder (in my opinion and personal experience) As your child gets older their additional needs may become more apparent. If you are having to worry about money on top of supporting two children, one of whom is likely to need significant therapeutic parenting which can be physically and emotionally draining, I think this could be a really really stressful situation to be in. Equally, trying to find a job that fits around the needs of your children may make things even harder. Your AC may not be able to cope with a childminder / nursery / before and after school clubs in the same way your BC can / could.

I'm not trying to put you off but it is worth really thinking about the logistics of how you would support yourself when you can no longer claim income support and may not be able to work full time due to needs of your children.

I'm a single adopter too, its a tough road to travel, as is all adoption. what are your motivations to adopt now? What are your long term plans about working?
You don't need me to tell you how difficult life can be on benefits. I have a good job, but work part time so about 60% of my income comes from benefits. I don't find that a comfortable situation to be in when entitlements can be removed. You mention housing benefit -is your tenancy secure?
It may be better to wait a few years until you are more financially stable, if you have a three year old I'm guessing you are relatively young so you have plenty of time

I think you need to have a chat with your local authority adoption agency and tell them your situation and circumstances.
I know when we went through the process, they insisted that we were financially secure and had a financial plan with savings if one of us couldn't return to work which didnt rely on benefits.
The process is invasive and indepth.
Good luck

Fairy, this may sound harsh, but as your DC will be going to school soon, surely finding appropriate work, or training for work should be your top priority? perhaps using free nursery time as an opportunity to improve employability? Unless you are chronically sick or disabled, benefits alone should not be seen as an income choice.

I believe alljamissweet is correct, prospective adopters, unlike birth parents, have to provide evidence of their income, I know my DD did when she was going through the process. She managed like Ted27 through working part time, (she has increased her hours as my DGC has grown), and claiming appropriate benefits.