The Children - and why they are placed for Adoption

Very few healthy new born babies are available for adoption. So we encourage applicants interested in adopting very young children to consider children up to the age of four.

Most birth parents of babies want the child to be adopted by younger married couples. When the Adoption Team is looking for suitable homes for babies, we pay special attention to the age of prospective adopters. However, age is not a significant factor for the many toddlers and young children we place. In fact, life experience can be a positive advantage!

On medical advice, we are unlikely to place a child under the age of 5 with adopters who smoke. However, the Adoption Team and Adoption Panel will look at the applicants’ circumstances before deciding whether to approve them as potential adopters.

Children may be placed for adoption as single children or they may need to be placed with their brothers or sisters. We make every effort to keep brothers and sisters together. Some children placed for adoption will have brothers or sisters who remain with birth families or who are adopted elsewhere.  

Children are placed for adoption when their birth families are unable to provide the care and security they need to enable them to grow into healthy and stable adults. Some birth parents request adoption if they feel unable to meet their children’s needs.

They may be young babies, older children or disabled children who require special care. However, the majority of children who need adoptive parents have been removed from their birth parents’ care by the courts.

They may:

It’s very rare that children need adoption because they have been abandoned by their parent(s) whose whereabouts are unknown.