Adoption exchange events

[EllieCharlie52]

Hi,

I was recently approved and am going to my first adoption exchange event soon. I was just wondering if anyone who's been to one could tell me a bit about what they're like, how helpful they were etc. I'm very new to this so anything helpful would be much appreciated!

Thank you 😊

Congratulations on being approved! This is where the journey really begins.

I went to a couple of exchange days, but it's not how I was matched. I found them a very positive experience though. I would try not to pin your hopes on finding 'the one' at an exchange day. Of course it's a possibility, but don't build your hopes up and try to look at the other advantages to attending too.

Since you are newly approved, this is a really good opportunity to start to fine tune your expectations around the kinds of children who are waiting to be adopted. There will be children's social workers and family finders to chat to about specific children. Take the opportunity to talk to as many as you can and try to be as open minded as you can. There won't be any hard sell, so take the time to ask the questions you need to.

It is also an opportunity for them to get to know you as well. There may not be any children's profiles that are right for you on the day, but a family finder you talk to at the event might have the perfect child for you you one, six or eighteen months down the line, so it's important to make a good impression. So that if your PAR crosses their path later down the line they will look more favourably on you if they have a good memory of you from when they met you. It's a good idea to do a one-pager about yourself and your strengths as a prospective adopter and hand out copies to the SWs you meet, not just those that have a child you are interested in.

You'll also get to meet lots of other prospective adopters, which is also comforting to share experiences and know that you are not the only person going through this.

Hi,

Thanks so much for this, I really appreciate it! I wasn't quite sure what to expect and the invitation didn't have much info so this is all really helpful. I'm definitely trying to stay open minded and am willing to consider most possibilities though as I'm on my own I need to be sensible too. I'm particularly interested in small ones and early permanence, it'll be interesting to see how much that's done or highlighted. It'll be good to see the reality of options and so on too rather than just Linkmaker though that is helpful. I do have several friends who've adopted but it'll be good to talk to foster carers and family finders etc. Thanks again for taking the time to write and all the helpful info!

I could be wrong, but I don't think you'll see any EP at an exchange day for a couple of (interlinked) reasons. You also may not see any evidence of babies/under 2s unless they have very complex needs. The focus of the event tends to be family finding for children who are older (2/3+) and/or with some additional needs, essentially the children who wait the longest. The SWs should be able to bring the children to life, so to speak, much more than if you'd just read their profile on link maker. Easy to place children (babies in particular) don't tend to feature as they are snapped up far more readily. And in the case of EP, the operative word being early, the SW will need to move quickly to actively find a placement through more direct targeting, rather than wait for this kind of event. I hope that helps. It's still very early days for you so having an open mind at this stage is perfect. I am also a single adopter and was set on adopting an older child but ultimately brought home a 12 month old.

I did wonder that but I guess I'll see and it'll be good to get my name known. I know that EP placements could be quite quick and I'm as ready as I can be for that. I'm also very open to tinies who've been addicted in utero etc which my SW says not many people are so hopefully that will play in my favour. I was asked to consider a tiny last week but they were down south and I'm up north so it wasn't workable sadly.