Can foster carers adopt their foster child?

Foster carers can sometimes adopt their foster child, but they must meet the legal requirements for adoption and be assessed as prospective adopters. Their existing relationship with the child is relevant, but it does not create an automatic right to adopt or guarantee that an adoption application will be approved.

The local authority must first decide whether adoption is the right permanence plan for the child. This decision considers the child’s welfare throughout their life, including their age, needs, relationships, wishes and feelings, background, and the possibility of returning to their birth family or living with relatives. Adoption is considered only where other options, such as rehabilitation to birth parents, kinship care or long-term fostering, are not more suitable.

A foster carer who wants to adopt should discuss this with their supervising social worker and the child’s social worker. The fostering agency and the local authority responsible for the child will need to consider the request carefully. The child may already have an agreed plan for adoption, or the plan may change following a review of their circumstances. A foster carer should not assume that expressing an interest will alter the child’s care plan.

There are different routes by which a foster carer may go on to adopt:

• Adoption following a care placement: where the child’s plan changes to adoption, the foster carer may be considered alongside other approved adopters if remaining with them is judged to meet the child’s needs.
• Applying to the court: in some circumstances, a foster carer may make an adoption application directly. Specific rules apply to when such an application can be made, including requirements relating to how long the child has lived with the foster carer. The court may also need to consider whether the local authority’s consent is required or should be dispensed with.
• Fostering for adoption: some carers are approved as adopters and then care for a child under fostering arrangements while the court proceedings and other legal steps are completed. This is different from an ordinary fostering placement followed by an unexpected adoption application.

Adoption involves a separate assessment, even if the carer has already completed a fostering assessment, checks and training. The adoption assessment may examine the carer’s ability to meet the child’s long-term needs, their understanding of adoption and loss, their support network, health, relationships, home circumstances and ability to manage contact or other issues connected with the child’s history. Previous fostering information may be relevant, but it does not replace the adoption process.

The child’s legal status is also important. If the child is subject to a care order, the local authority shares parental responsibility with the birth parents. An adoption order transfers parental responsibility to the adopters and removes it from the birth parents and the local authority. In most cases, the court needs the consent of each parent or guardian, unless consent is not required because, for example, the court considers that withholding it would be unreasonable or that the child’s welfare requires it to be dispensed with.

The court’s decision is based on the child’s welfare, not simply on the foster carer’s wishes or the length of the existing placement. The court may consider:

• the child’s current and future needs;
• the child’s relationship with the foster carer and other important people;
• the child’s wishes and feelings, where these can be understood;
• the effect of ending or changing relationships with birth family members;
• the benefits and risks of adoption compared with other permanence options; and
• whether the proposed adopters can provide safe, stable and lifelong care.

Birth family relationships and contact must be considered separately from the question of whether the foster carer is suitable. Adoption usually changes the legal relationship with birth parents, but it does not automatically mean that all contact ends. The court or adoption agency may consider indirect contact, direct contact or no contact, depending on what best protects the child’s welfare. Any arrangements should be realistic and reviewed in light of the child’s needs.

If an adoption order is made, the fostering placement ends because the child becomes the adopter’s child in law. The carer will no longer receive fostering payments for that child. Adoption support may be available in some circumstances, but it is assessed separately and should not be assumed to continue at the same level as fostering allowances. Carers should ask for clear information about financial support, therapeutic services, education support and any ongoing post-adoption assistance before making a decision.

Where adoption is not considered suitable, the child may remain with the foster carer under a long-term fostering arrangement or another permanence order. A special guardianship order is a separate legal option that gives the carer enhanced parental responsibility without creating the same legal relationship as adoption. The most appropriate arrangement depends on the child’s circumstances and long-term welfare.

Anyone considering adoption of a foster child should obtain independent legal advice before making a court application, particularly where the local authority does not support the proposed plan or where birth parents object. The child’s social worker, fostering agency and adoption service can explain the assessment route, legal position and support available in the particular case.