What does a foster to adopt assessment involve?

A foster to adopt assessment is a structured suitability assessment used to decide whether you can care for a child as a foster carer while also being considered as a potential adopter. It examines your ability to meet the child’s needs, manage uncertainty and work with professionals and the child’s birth family, rather than assuming that adoption will definitely take place.

Initial discussions and eligibility checks

The process normally begins with detailed conversations about your circumstances, reasons for considering foster to adopt, household members, work, relationships, health, finances and support network. The assessing social worker will explain the difference between fostering and adoption, including the possibility that the child may return to their birth family or be placed elsewhere.

Your agency will also check that you meet the relevant legal and practical requirements. This can include identity documents, household information, previous fostering or adoption experience, immigration status where relevant, and whether there are any circumstances that could affect your suitability.

Background and safeguarding checks

Checks are carried out to help identify anything that could affect a child’s safety or wellbeing. These commonly include criminal records checks for eligible household members, local authority checks, employment or other references, and checks relating to previous children or caring responsibilities. Previous relationships may also be discussed, particularly where separation, domestic abuse or significant family changes could be relevant to the assessment.

Being known to a council, having a previous conviction or having experienced difficult circumstances does not automatically mean that you cannot foster to adopt. The assessor considers the details, how long ago events occurred, what has changed and how the circumstances might affect your ability to care safely.

Health and practical capacity

A medical assessment is normally required so that the agency can understand whether your physical and mental health would allow you to provide consistent care. The focus is on your current health, any treatment or medication, and the likely practical impact of a condition. The assessment is not intended to require perfect health, but it must establish whether the demands of caring for a young child can be met safely.

Your home is considered in relation to safety, space, sleeping arrangements, privacy and the child’s likely needs. The assessor may discuss transport, childcare, work patterns, pets, smoking, equipment and how the household would respond to disrupted sleep or appointments. The home visit is part of a wider assessment and is not simply an inspection of whether the property looks presentable.

Exploring your understanding and readiness

Foster to adopt requires a particular understanding of uncertainty. The assessment explores how you would cope with caring for a child who may become your adopted child but may instead return to their birth family or move to another permanent placement. You may be asked how you would manage attachment, grief, changing plans and professional decisions that do not match your expectations.

The assessor will also consider your understanding of:

• the reasons children may enter care and the effects of early trauma, neglect or disrupted attachments;
• the importance of the child’s identity, culture, religion, language and family connections;
• birth family involvement and any contact arrangements;
• confidentiality, safe caring and appropriate boundaries;
• recording observations and sharing information with the professional network; and
• working with social workers, health professionals, legal representatives and other agencies.

Household and support network

Everyone in the household is likely to be affected by a foster to adopt placement, so their views and ability to manage the change are considered. This may include children, adult relatives, partners and anyone who provides regular childcare. The assessor will want to know how responsibilities would be shared and how existing relationships and routines would be protected.

References from people who know you well may be requested. The assessment also considers who could provide practical and emotional support, particularly if the child has complex needs, frequent appointments or contact with birth relatives. Support must be appropriate, reliable and consistent with confidentiality requirements.

Training and preparation

Prospective foster to adopt carers complete preparation training before approval. Training usually covers safeguarding, child development, trauma and attachment, safer caring, health needs, recording, contact, working with birth families and the legal framework for children in care. It also gives you an opportunity to examine the differences between being a foster carer and an adopter.

Participation in training is part of the assessment because it shows how you absorb information, reflect on your assumptions and respond to professional guidance. It is normal for training to identify further questions or areas where additional support may be useful.

Written report and approval decisions

Once the enquiries are complete, the assessing social worker prepares a detailed report. This normally brings together the information from interviews, visits, checks, references, medical advice and training. You should have an opportunity to comment on factual inaccuracies before the report is considered.

Fostering approval and adoption approval are related but distinct decisions, and the exact process depends on the agency and the circumstances of the child. A fostering panel may consider the fostering assessment, after which the agency’s decision-maker makes the approval decision. Adoption approval may involve a separate assessment or a linked process. Approval to foster to adopt does not mean that a child will necessarily be placed with you or that an adoption order will definitely follow.

Questions to ask during your assessment

• Will the fostering and adoption assessments be completed together or separately?
• Which checks and references will be required from each household member?
• What information will be available about the child’s health, development and family circumstances?
• How will contact with birth relatives be arranged and reviewed?
• What happens if the plan changes while the child is living with you?
• Who will provide support and supervision after placement?

The assessment should leave you with a realistic understanding of both the responsibilities and the uncertainty involved. It is also an opportunity for you to decide whether foster to adopt is suitable for your household, rather than simply a process designed to approve an application.