The main difference between fostering and adoption is that fostering is often temporary, while adoption is usually a more permanent, long-term solution.
When you become a foster parent, you become a child’s caregiver during the placement, providing a high quality and safe environment. You may have one or several children in your care. As a foster parent, you do take on the role of parent but ultimately, the local authority and the child’s birth parents have responsibility for the child – though you may share some decision-making capabilities. However, when you adopt a child, you have full parental responsibility – and the child is a permanent member of your family.
Below, we have explored the differences between fostering and adoption to help you decide what might be the best option for you.
Foster parents and adoptive parents parental rights
When you foster a child in the UK, you are caring for them on behalf of the local authority and the birth parents. You have no legal rights or responsibilities in respect of the child. It is usually a temporary arrangement, although some fostering placements can be long-term.
However, when you adopt a child in the UK, you become their legal parent. This means that all responsibilities are transferred to you as adopters. This is permanent and the child has exactly the same legal status in your family as any other family member, which continues throughout their lifetime.
Adoption enables people without children to become parents and it helps people with children to expand their family. Adoption is a way of providing a forever family for children unable to be brought up by their biological parents. An important factor to note is that once the adoption order is granted, it cannot be reversed. The adopted child loses all legal ties with their birth parent(s) and becomes a full member of the adoptive family, usually taking the family’s name.
Adoption vs. long-term fostering
Long-term fostering is also known as permanent fostering. Young people are rarely placed in permanent care from the onset of being fostered as, when they are taken into care, the expectation is that they will return home once the problems in their birth family are resolved.
However, if a situation is not overcome, the court order gives the local authority legal responsibility for the young person and, as the child’s guardian, the local authority must find a permanent home for the child. In some, but not all, cases, this means that the child is available for adoption.
The alternative is long-term fostering and the question is, why is long-term foster care chosen over adoption? This is because it may be deemed in the child’s interest to keep in contact with, and visit, his or her birth parents. This can be due to the child’s wishes to maintain contact with his or her family.
Fostering and adoption allowance
Fostering a child, who desperately needs your help not only has emotional rewards, but financial benefits, too. As a foster carer, there is rarely time away from the job – which is why a fostering allowance is provided in order to support you.
Typically, a Foster Parent could up to £26,000 a year. How much a Foster parent is paid depends on a number of factors, such as:
- Child’s needs – the specific needs of the child or young person in your care
- Age – the age of your foster placement
- Location – the geographical area you are fostering in.
- Local authority or independent fostering agency – it can also depend on whether you are fostering with a local authority or an independent fostering agency – as the latter can often afford to pay its foster carers a larger weekly amount than local authorities can.
In comparison with adoption, you could also gain access to The Adoption Support Fund. This fund was established to help adoptive parents obtain therapeutic services and support packages for their family when needed.
The amount per child per year is capped at £5000 for therapy, as well as a separate amount of up to £2,500 per child if specialist assessments are needed. There are a wide range of services available with this fund, including therapeutic parenting programmes, play and filial therapy, creative arts therapy, and systemic therapies such as family therapy – and many more.
If a family feels that support is needed, they have the right to request an assessment from the Local Authority, who can then submit an application for an Adoption Support Fund. The service is available to all children in adoptive care who have been referred by their local authorities in England.
What is foster to adopt?
Foster to adopt is when a child is placed with adopters, who are also temporarily approved as foster carers, whilst the plan for their future is decided. If the plan for adoption is decided in court, the child remains with the same family who can proceed to apply to adopt them.
At Adopters for Adoption, we don’t currently dually approve our adopters, but during the adoption process, we ask all of our adopters if this is something that they might feel able to consider. Our adoption panel, who recommend if a family are suitable to adopt, are keen to hear more about a families suitability to foster to adopt. If such an opportunity arises for our approved adopters, the local authority, who wish to place the child, arranges for our adopters to be temporarily approved as foster carers.
Foster vs Adopt – Which is best for you?
Deciding between fostering and adoption is a difficult decision. There are so many factors that need to be considered, which will ultimately affect your life.
The greatest difference is between the number of children and young people you are able to care for. As a Foster Parent, you can help many children and see them through an incredible journey. However, as an adoptive parent, you may spend longer looking for that one child, who is the right fit for your family. However, once you find them, they become part of your forever family and you are able to see them grow and develop throughout their whole life.
Adoption numbers are falling but the number of children in need is still high. Government statistics show that in England as of 31 March 2020, there were 80,080 children in care. In that same period, only 3,440 children were adopted. Because of this, Adopters for Adoption is proud to be a national UK adoption agency. The agency was set up to not only provide adoption services to those looking to become adoptive parents of a baby or child, but to also have a positive impact on the way those people are supported in the adoption process.
If you would like any advice, or have any further questions about the difference between fostering and adoption, then get in touch with the team today by calling on 0800 5877 791 or emailing contactus@adoptersforadoption.com.
