What is fostering to adopt?
Fostering to Adopt is when a child is fostered by a person or a couple who are approved to both foster and to adopt.
It means that children waiting to be adopted can live with a potentially permanent family earlier than a conventional adoption. It allows the prospective adopters, the child’s social worker, us and the courts, to be sure that adoption is the best outcome for the child. Most importantly, fostering to adopt helps reduce the number of moves that a child experiences and creates a more stable environment for them.
Fostering for Adoption and Concurrent Planning are types of Early Permanence, sometimes called an EP placement. If a child comes into care and it is unlikely they will be able to safely return to their birth family this type of placement may be used. They tend to be used for babies and young children who are likely to need adoption but still have a chance of being reunited with their birth families. If the court decides a child’s future is best protected by adoption, the child is already living and comfortable with people who can now adopt them and provide their forever home. At Barnardo’s, we find children loving homes through Fostering for Adoption.

Our advice for someone considering Early Permanence would be to really talk about it first. It’s not the easy option but then the traditional route isn’t easy either. If things don’t work out then you will have been fabulous foster carers for that child in their journey and provided them with some love and stability, preparing them for their next step. Or they get to be a permanent, noisy fixture in your lives!
Zoe and Cheryl
How does fostering to adopt work?
The child initially lives with their prospective adopters on a fostering basis while the child's social worker completes assessments and makes a recommendation to a Family Court about the child's future care.
If the court’s decision is for the child not to return to their birth family, then plans can be made for the child to remain with the adopters, and for them to apply to adopt the child. Fostering for adoption provides greater stability for the child and promotes early attachment and bonding with the family.
Usually, children cannot live with people who want to adopt them until the adoption has been approved by the courts. They often live with a foster family who will help prepare them for the transition to their adoptive family, but it does mean an extra move for the child. Fostering to adopt means they are already living in what might become their forever home.
If a child is placed with you on a fostering to adopt basis, it’s important to remember that they may not end up living with you forever. If it is decided that adoption isn’t in their best interests or that your home isn’t the right fit for them, they may end up moving on. However, you will have provided a loving and safe environment for them and helped them get ready for their next home.
Sometimes when this happens, children can experience feelings of loss and separation. To try and limit this we follow the University of East Anglia’s Moving to Adoption Process and place the child’s emotional needs at the centre of everything we do. We’ll also support you as their foster carers and the prospective adoptive parents. We understand that as much as you’ll be happy to see a child you’ve cared for move to a forever home, that it can be hard to see them leave, and we’ll make sure you’re supported.
The support we’ll offer you
We offer comprehensive support to all our foster carers and prospective adopters. This involves preparation courses both before you start, as well as ongoing training once you’re looking after a child, whether you’re doing it as a foster carer or adopter. You'll also get access to a 24/7 phone line, a dedicated social worker and the chance to become part of a network and meet with other people in a similar position to you.
Find out more about the support we offer foster carers, as well as what we offer adopters.
How fostering to adopt gave baby Charlie a secure, loving home
Zoe and Cheryl share what it’s like to adopt through Early Permanence.

How can I apply to foster to adopt?
If you are interested in fostering to adopt, you can find out more information from our friendly team by getting in touch and making an enquiry below.
Getting in touch is a great way to learn about the process and ask any questions you may have. Don’t worry, you don’t have to sign up or be ready to commit yet.

Want to know more about adoption?
Read about adopting with us – who can adopt, the training and support we offer, the kinds of children who need loving families to adopt them, plus real-life stories from our adopters.

Want to know more about fostering?
We’ve been working to change childhoods and change lives for more than150 years. So whatever question or situation you and your foster child have, we'll be right beside you. If you’ve got space in your home and heart to welcome a foster child in, whether it’s for a short or a long stay, then we’re here to support you, every step of the way.

Not sure if you're ready to adopt?
We know that lots of people are interested in adoption but aren’t sure when is the right time to start the process. To help you decide, we talked to parents who’ve adopted and experts from Barnardo’s and asked them how you can tell when it’s the right time to adopt.