Who can adopt?
People from all sections of the community can make a success of adoption. It doesn’t matter whether you are married or single, in or out of work, or whatever your race, religion or sexuality. But you do need plenty of patience, humour, and energy. Most importantly, you need to be determined to give a child or children the sort of support that will really make a difference to their lives. We hope that the information below helps to answers some of the questions you have.
Please do not hesitate to contact ACE if you would like to discuss further your interest in adoption.
The ACE adopter eligibility criteria are the same as those used by other adoption services across the county:
- Adopters must be legally resident in the UK for 1 year before becoming an adoptive parent.
- Adopters must be over 21 years old - there is no specific upper age limit.
- Adopters and those sharing their home must have no convictions for specified offences or crimes against children.
- All adopters must be willing to put the child and his/her needs first and foremost in all decisions affecting the child’s welfare.
- All adopters must be able to provide a loving, calm, emotionally stable environment for the child.
- All adopters must be healthy and fit enough to keep the child safe, care and play with the child as they grow and support them into adulthood.
- All adopters must be able to provide a stable, safe home with room for the child to play and sleep.
- All adopters must be willing to respect the child’s birth culture and family origins as an important part of the child’s identity, providing information to the child as he/she grows up to explain their early life.
- All adopters should be supported by family, friends or community who will welcome the child and support them as adoptive parents.
- All adopters must be financially able to provide for the child’s needs. If both parents work, this includes one parent taking time from work in the first year to settle the child into the family.
