Current timeline for adoption

[Castaway10]

Hi all,

For anyone who has adopted recently, or is still going through this, please could you tell me the current processing time to approval, is it still around the 6 month target and is training still being done online?

I'd be a solo adopter, if that makes things any quicker in terms of checks etc.

Thank you

It completely varies between agency and your circumstances and social worker

We were 7 months from expression of interest to approval panel but I know of others who have been longer (and that was same agency as us)

All training for us and both approval and matching panels have been online (matching panel was 1st November)

I think the 6 month is completely unrealistic and is unhelpful in unfairly raising expectations. We are years in, but there was covid to slow things to be fair, but still slow. We were approved in feb and now in matching with panel in dec and introductions next feb, so a year after approval, and its been over 2 years till approval.
Our training and panel was online.

Thanks both, i wish they would just be realistic too. I remember when the official process was around 9-12 months and then they brought it down to 6 months, but if that's not being met by many, then why advertise it?!

I will ask my chosen LA when i make enquiries about their average wait, but it's always good to hear about current experiences.

Our agency is fairly good with the timelines. There were 8 lots on our training course back in March and all but 2 are now approved (though they may be approved but we aren't in contact with the remaining 2) with 3 of us matched and another 1 going through discussion for a match

Ours was just over a year from enquiry to approval panel second time round but the link came 3 days later. Panel should've been 2 months earlier but that was a delay with a DBS that pushed it back. The link would still have been 3 days after ADM sign off regardless as we were second time adopters and the family finder wanted us as soon as she heard about us at a monthly meeting while we were going through the assessment.

First time round, initial enquiry to approval panel was 10 months with the link being made 3 months later.

There are things like courses and background checks that mean you can be delayed and then there are things that happen in life like holidays and sickness.

Following my initial inquiry it took...

11x months to be Approved and
15x months for my son to be Placed. He was placed early autumn 2020.

I was the quickest from the people on my training.

It's my understanding that after Aporoval it could take a year to be Matched with a child and that's without taking Covid into account.

The timescales are really just a guideline. I do remember doing all my Bits of paperwork as soon as I got them so that any delays weren't caused my end !!

In 2018 when there was no COVID

1 year to be assessed (including a 2-month break between stage 1 and 2)
6 months to be matched

1 year and a half in total which we considered relatively quick compared to other adopters at the time. The 6-month guideline is not realistic.

In my LA everyone’s know recently has taken about 6 months to be to panel. Only one took longer but they had a break between stages 1 and 2.

Just in case my post was unclear my son was Placed 15 months after my initial inquiry.

And I am a solo adopter too.

Our stage 1 training is going to be in person (next month)

We did our expression of interest September 2019. We had approval panel June 2020. LO home April 2021