Adoptive parents

You must be over 21 to adopt a child unrelated to you. There are no other specific restrictions on age. We expect you to be able to bring children up throughout their childhood. It would be unusual for adopters to be more than 50 years older than the children placed with them.

We accept applications from unmarried couples and couples who have formed a civil partnership who can apply together to legally adopt a child. We would usually expect couples to demonstrate a strong and stable relationship to ensure security for the children we place. This would usually mean that they had been in their relationship for at least three years.

At least one applicant must live in the United Kingdom.

You do not have to live in Buckinghamshire but we usually only work with people living within an hour's travelling of Wycombe, Aylesbury or Amersham so we can continue to support you once a child is placed.

Single people are able to adopt and are seen as a positive choice for some children. Single people need to make sure there are people available to offer them both practical and emotional support.

We consider applicants with or without children. For applicants without children who have been involved in infertility investigations or treatment, we would expect these to have been concluded before any assessment was started.

You do not have to have a large income or own your home. An adoption allowance is paid for children who meet the criteria, ie those with emotional or behavioural difficulties, those with a disability or children in a sibling group where brothers and sisters need to be kept together.

If you are aware of any health problems you should discuss these early on with a social worker. Your health is important. We try to ensure that a child will not experience further losses so you will be asked to show you have a healthy lifestyle. We follow advice from British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) and the Department of Health regarding smoking. Research on the effects of passive smoking would mean we would not usually place a baby or very young child, or a child with a medical condition which would be adversely affected eg asthma, in a household where applicants smoke. If you make us aware of medical conditions, or your weight is considered to be an issue that may lead to longer term health problems, we will consult with your GP and the Agency Medical Adviser at an early stage to seek their view of any implications for adoption.

The children we place will often have experienced inconsistent parenting and will need a great deal of time and attention so we would usually expect there to be one consistent carer available to care for pre-school age children. If you are working you will need to explore what level of adoption leave you would be entitled to and think carefully about how you could ensure consistency for a child being placed with you.