Adoption

Welcome to the web pages for Stoke-on-Trent’s Adoption Team. Whether you are thinking about adopting a child or have already adopted, these pages will give you lots of advice and information.

What is adoption?
When you adopt a child, it means that you take on legal responsibility for that child permanently. The rights and responsibilities of the ‘birth’ parents, or anyone else who has parental responsibility, are transferred to you by a court.

How is it different from fostering?
When you foster a child it doesn’t usually involve a court process. It’s a way of giving children, who can’t be with their own parents, a family life. But most children who are fostered are able to go back to living with their original families. Sometimes this might be after just a few days or weeks, or it can be after several years.To find out more about fostering, click here.

Please follow the links for more information on adoption.