If you do not meet the criteria for adopting a child from birth to the age of 2 years and want to become an adoptive parent to an older child or children, or if you do meet the criteria but decide that you would prefer to be considered for a family group or an older child, your enquiry and application will be taken forward by West Dunbartonshire Council’s Fostering and Adoption Team.
There are many children in foster care, between the ages of two and ten years who need a “forever” family.
Adopting children is rewarding but hard work. Families need a range of resources and supports to assist them through the years ahead.
All children who are placed for adoption have to come to terms with the fact that for one reason or another they could not be brought up by their own parents. In general, the younger the child, the more likely they are to be able to form new healthy attachments within their new family, which in later years will help them to cope with feelings of loss or rejection in relation to their birth family.
However, for most children, the route to adoption is neither short nor simple. They will have had difficult experiences such as periods of abuse and neglect and they may also have had a variety of carers. The children are likely to feel insecure and mistrustful of adults and may feel threatened by change.
