Help and advice Scotland to England adoption

[okarimnvo]

My MIL is a foster carer in Scotland and has had a little girl in her care for just over 18 months. It’s very recently been decided that her bio parents won’t be getting custody back and that she will be adopted. My partner and I had said a while back that should this happen we would want to take her. Can anyone give me any advice on how we do this? Do we need an agency? Is there my barriers with her being in Scotland and us being in England? Any advice would be so welcome, please and thank you.

There shouldn’t be any barriers, I suspect if the child is in Scotland you’ll go through the Scottish legal process which is quite different to England. You’ll need to be assessed as adopters, I’m not sure whether it would be easier to go through assessment in Scotland or whether that would be possible living in England. I think your first step is to speak to the Scottish local authority because they’ll know where they’re at in terms of the permanence process and will have a view about your assessment.

Given it’s not a straightforward adoption process I’d suggest going with a local authority rather than an adoption agency.

My MIL is a foster carer in Scotland and has had a little girl in her care for just over 18 months. It’s very recently been decided that her bio parents won’t be getting custody back and that she will be adopted. My partner and I had said a while back that should this happen we would want to take her. Can anyone give me any advice on how we do this? Do we need an agency? Is there my barriers with her being in Scotland and us being in England? Any advice would be so welcome, please and thank you. https://19216811.cam/

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Start by speaking to the Scottish LA.

Have you developed a close relationship with the little girl? If not they may prefer to go with adopters already assessed, or close to finishing assessment, rather than waiting for a new couple to go through assessment (and potentially not pass).

On the other hand, if you already have a strong relationship with her than they might see the advantage to the LO in waiting for continuity of relationships.

You could see a family law firm.

If the child is in foster care, not kinship care, then the OP isn't 'family' - nor is their mother.

The LA's criteria for selecting potential adoptive parents will be the best interests of the child.

‘Family law’ is the area of law that involves children and families. Adoption process occurs in the family courts. Hence needing a family lawyer.