What About My Birth Parents?

You may be wondering about your birth parents (the family you were born into) and what they think - Do they have to say YES to your adoption?

The social worker, the adoption panel and the court will need to know what they think and how they feel about you being adopted before it is finally agreed. Birth parents can still love you even if it is not safe for you to live with them or they are not able to look after you.

Some birth parents say YES to adoption because they know that this will be best for you. Some are not sure, so your social worker will talk to them to help them sort it out. Some also say NO, because although they cannot look after their children, they still love them and find it hard to accept that they cannot look after them safely themselves.

If this is the case, the court will ask another social worker to help the judge decide what will be best. This social worker is called a Children's Guardian.

For some children and young people, it may be good to keep in touch with some members of their first family. For others it may not be possible, or it may be upsetting and may not even be what the child or young person wants.

Your social worker can help you to sort out your feelings about seeing your birth family and whether or not it's a good idea.

If you don't see them, there will often be an arrangement for them and your new adoptive parents to send a letter, so they can find out about your news and you can find out about theirs.