Adoption and Fostering

The following page tells you a little about the Adoption and Fostering Service in Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr Tydfil has 173 children in Foster Care and 69 fostering households. In Merthyr Tydfil we need more foster carers from different backgrounds and experiences with the commitment to developing a child’s abilities and strengths to fulfil their potential.

We have a dedicated team of Home Finders able to;

Foster Carers
Offer advice and guidance
Offer excellent training
Access multi agency services aimed at meeting the needs of the child and foster family
Offer a competitive scale payment

Browse our foster care section for more information; complete our online enquiry form or contact the Home Finder Team by telephone or letter for more information.

The Home Finder Team:

You can visit us at: Customer Service Reception, Post Office Lane, Merthyr Tydfil

Write to us at: Merthyr Tydfil CBC, Integrated Childrens Services, Taf Fechan Building, Castle Street, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8BG

Telephone us at: 01685 725195

E mail us at: foster.adopt@merthyr.gov.uk

Useful Links:

www.fostering.net/wales

Becoming an Adoptive Parent

Adoption is a way of providing a new family for a child when living with his own family is not possible. Because we are an adoption agency, we are legally allowed to arrange adoptions by placing children with suitable families, but we cannot make the arrangement legally binding. Only a court can do that, by making an Adoption Order. This ends the child’s legal relationship with his/her original family and gives him/her new legal parents. He/she becomes a full member of his/her adoptive family as if he/she had been born to the adopters.

So adoption means changing parents, permanently. This is such an important thing to happen in a child’s life that the law requires adoption agencies and courts to put the child’s long-term welfare first when they make decisions about his/her adoption.

Knowing About You

Because placing a child for adoption is such an important matter. Adoption Agencies have to undertake, thorough enquiries, which often take some time to complete:

Pre-assessment checks, for example, medical, references and police checks.
A Social Worker (Homefinder) will be allocated to you and complete a home study report (Form F). Your referees will be interviewed and you may be asked to attend Training.
You will be shown your Form F and asked for your observations.
Your application will then be submitted to an Adoption Panel, which considers your application.
An Adoption Panel has ten members including a medical advisor and people who have particular experience of Adoption, such as an adoptive parent. The Panel’s functions are to consider and make recommendations on whether it is in the best interest of a child to be placed for adoption, whether a prospective adopter is suitable to be an adoptive parent and whether a prospective adopter is suitable for a particular child.
You will then be informed in writing, if you have been successful or unsuccessful.
If successful the Homefinder Team will then match you to a child or children that they think will be suitable.
The Adoption Panel will reconvene and decide if the match is appropriate.

If after reading this information you are interested in Adoption you can call:

Telephone Number: 01685 724580 and have a confidential chat with one of our Homefinders.

or complete the on-line application form:

Foster Care Application (e-form)