5. Linking and Matching

5. Linking and Matching
This can be a frustrating time for adopters. After the assessment and initial excitement of being approved as adopters it can feel like suddenly no-one is interested or doing anything. But trust me this is far from the case. Family Finding social workers will be doing lots and lots of work behind the scenes trying to link or match children to the best fitting families and completing mounds of paperwork.

The search usually starts locally, then as time goes on it expands further afield. You can also be involved in this process through magazines and Adoption link. Although, I would speak to your social worker as they may already have profiles in mind or there may be timescales attached to when they start using various resources available to them.

Your social worker will also send your PAR to children’s social workers to consider potential matches. You will also get some basic profiles and if interested you can request the Child Permanence Report (CPR). This is a huge comprehensive report all about the child, their birth family, circumstances that led them being taken into care and lots of other information to allow you to make an informed decision. Prepare yourself as some of this information can be very upsetting to read sometimes.

Once you find a potential match, your social worker will express interest and the process of information sharing begins to explore the possible match. If all agree that it is a potential match then a meeting between the child’s social worker, Family Finder, you and your social worker will be arranged. They will tell you more about the child and answer any questions you may have. This is your chance to ask a ton of questions, so write down as many as possible beforehand. If there is anything in the reports that you want clarity on this is a good opportunity to do it.

Once a potential match is found things can start moving very quickly, but don't rush this part. Read profiles, take time to discuss them with your partner and reflect on what you have read. A lot of adopters I work with often say they knew very quickly when it was right and described knowing more as a feeling. We looked through a couple of profiles before we were matched with our children. We found this part difficult, we really had to try and think with our heads over our hearts when looking at profiles. There is a temptation to go for the first profile you see and it was heart-wrenching telling the social worker we didn’t think we were suitable for those children. We felt horrible turning down these beautiful little children but we had to be realistic and practically we wouldn’t be able to meet their needs. Get as much information as you can and ask lots of questions.

 
If everyone is happy to proceed you will get the chance to meet with the foster carer to talk about the child, bringing them to life and giving you an idea of what life is like to care for the child(ren). You will also get to speak to or meet the agencies Medical Advisor. This is very useful, especially if the child as any medical or additional needs.


If you have a wider age range or are interested in children with additional needs you may get invited to Activity Days, which I will discuss in another blog.

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