Adoption
London Borough of Tower Hamlets provides an adoption agency for
those interested in adopting. These days very few children are
given up for adoption by their parents at birth. Instead, the
majority of children who need new families need them because of
concerns about the parenting they have previously received.
These children need a loving family in the way that all children
do. They also need a level of understanding, reassurance, patience
and commitment over and above children who have not had such early
instability.
People from all sorts of different backgrounds adopt. People
sometimes think that they are automatically ruled out from adopting
a child just because they are single, divorced, unemployed,
disabled, gay or an older person. None of these are reasons to
exclude you - it's all about what you can offer, what a child
needs, and whether these can fit together to make a family for
life.
Tower Hamlets' Adoption Service is looking for families from all
ethnic backgrounds including Black, White and Asian to provide
children with a loving and supportive home. We need families to
adopt children of all age ranges, sibling groups and children with
disabilities.
Deciding to adopt is a huge decision but it might not be as
scary as you think. It can take a while to go through the process
and you will be asked lots of questions, but our team will be there
every step of the way to help support you during and after
adopting.
The adoption team is made up of people from lots of different
backgrounds and are well trained in being sensitive to people's
cultural and religious beliefs and life experiences.
Once approved, we have a dedicated team who will be able to
offer post adoption support and training to help you build your new
life as a family together.
The adoption process
If you are interested in adopting, you will
need to meet with a social worker many times to talk about
yourself, your family and your experiences of looking after
children. Some people find the idea of this daunting, but our
social workers are highly experienced and will do everything they
can to help you feel reassured during this process. You will also
need to have police and medical checks and will need to ask
employers, friends and families to give references.
It usually takes at least six months to become
approved adopters - sometimes longer. The process of matching you
with a child or children will then commence and again, this can
also take time.
Tower Hamlets can also undertake assessments
for people who are interested in adopting from abroad.
To see the adoption process please click
here.
Post adoption
We also offer a
post adoption service which supports anyone who has been
involved in adoption including adults who are trying to trace their
birth families, support to birth families who have been affected by
adoption. The team also carry out financial support assessments of
adopted families.
Further information
If you are interested in adopting, please
contact our permanency and adoption support team. You can access
the service by phone or email anytime. A duty social worker is
available between 9am - 5pm or you can leave a message outside
these hours.
Find out more about adoption
services at Tower Hamlets.
How to contact us
Permanency and Adoption Support Team
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London
E14 2BG
Tel: 0800 279 9850
Email: adoption@towerhamlets.gov.uk