www.wiltshire.gov.uk
How we prioritise assessments
As an adoption agency, Wiltshire County Council base our prioritisation principles on the needs of the children who need adoptive families.
We need applicants who can care for sibling groups, children with behavioural difficulties, older children, children from different cultural backgrounds and children who have ongoing contact with birth family members.
We receive many more enquiries about becoming adoptive families than we need to place children, and as a result need to have a way of prioritising who to take forward.
There are three ‘eligibility criteria’ which apply:
- Minimum age – an individual or both if a couple must be over 21 years of age.
- Specified offences – where an individual or another member of their household has committed or been cautioned for a specified criminal offence at age 18 or over, they will not be considered eligible to adopt.
- Residency – a couple must have been habitually resident in part of the British Isles for at least one year ending with the date of the application to the court for an Adoption Order.
The following is a list of factors which will give priority to applicants and individually be taken into account. It is not a requirement that applicants meet all of these at the same time; it is not an exhaustive list but will help enquirers be clear about how we prioritise applications.
Priority will be given to applicants who:
- have been married or living together for a minimum of two years;
- are financially stable;
- are open to contact with birth family members
- are prepared to consider a child up to five years of age or more;
- do not smoke;
- accept that there should be a two year age gap between existing children and any adopted child;
- have completed treatment for infertility;
- are willing to adopt a child with emotional or behavioural difficulties;
- are willing to adopt a child with a disability;
- wish to be considered for sibling groups of two or more children;
- are able to offer a child from a different culture a placement which can meet the child's cultural needs;
- for whom there are no serious health issues which could affect care of a child;
- have given time to work through major life events, bereavements, etc.
Contact Details
By Post
Adoption
Children
& Families branch
Wiltshire County Council
County Hall, Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JB
By Email
adoption@wiltshire.gov.uk
By Telephone
01225 713000
By Fax
01225 713145
