Fostering for adoption

When thinking about adoption as a possible plan for a baby, social workers have a duty to consider ‘foster for adoption’. This duty is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

Foster for adoption is a type of foster care that is used when adoption is being considered for a child. This will be where it is considered unlikely that the child will be raised by their parents or relatives.

Babies and younger children may be placed with people who are approved both as foster carers and as prospective adopters. The child is placed with them on a temporary fostering basis. The court will not yet have made a final decision about the child’s long-term future.

The idea is that the child will form a strong relationship much earlier with the people who may go on to be their adoptive parents.