ONE of the factors of life for a child in care is that they are often placed with multiple families within the system.

A new scheme called Fostering for Adoption allows a child who is up for adoption to be temporarily fostered by their potential adoptive parents, while court proceedings and other decisions are finalised.

The scheme, by Kirklees Council, is aimed at being of benefit to both children in care and adopters. Prospective parents and children are able to develop healthy attachments at the earliest possible stage, and it also provides the child with consistent, uninterrupted continuity of care.

A Fostering for Adoption placement is only made occasionally as a last resort, where there is clear evidence that birth parents are unlikely to resolve their issues, or that other family members are unable to take care of the child.

Under the initiative, the council has successfully placed 13 children, many from birth, with loving families and now needs to find homes for at least seven babies over the coming months.

Claire, 39, and her 52 year-old husband, Richard, were matched with a six-week-old girl earlier this year. Because they had gone through the Fostering for Adoption route, she was able to live with them straight away. They were then given the go-ahead to adopt the baby girl within just three months.

The couple had previously adopted three children through Kirklees Council - two sisters now aged nine and eleven in 2009, followed by a boy, now aged six, in 2011 - via the traditional adoption route after being unable to have children of their own. They had always planned to adopt three children but experienced ‘empty nest’ syndrome after their youngest son began nursery, so looked to the local authority again for their fourth child.

“Although we’d been through the adoption process twice before, the Fostering for Adoption scheme was something new to us," says Claire.

“Previously, once we’d been matched with our children we then had to go through a handing over process, which involved gradual contact over several weeks before they could come and live with us. The adoption process moved pretty quickly with our older daughters but for various reasons, it took a little longer with our son.

“This time, because we’d chosen the Fostering for Adoption route, we could take our daughter home with us until the courts decided on her plan of care. It made so much more sense that she could live with the people who were very likely to become her adoptive parents, and we were able to bond with her straight away. Those extra months with her were precious and made a real difference.”

While there is a small chance that under the scheme a child may be reunited with their birth family, the council says the majority go on to be adopted. Adds Claire: “From the start we were made aware that there was a small chance our daughter could have gone back to live with her birth family. But we talked it through with our social worker and we knew that circumstances meant this was highly unlikely.

"I appreciate that Fostering for Adoption might not be for everyone but after weighing everything up we knew this is what we wanted. We felt it was a risk worth taking and the benefits have far outweighed any of this.

“I’d always wanted to be a mum and adoption is something that’s really worked for us. Our goal was to fill our house with children and now I wouldn’t rule out doing it all again.”

Sarah Callaghan, Kirklees Council’s Director of Children’s Services, said: “Fostering for Adoption is a national scheme and since it was introduced, Kirklees Council has successfully placed 13 children with loving families who are now reaping the benefits of being placed with their adoptive parents at the earliest opportunity. We currently have seven babies coming in to our care for whom Fostering for Adoption has been identified as an appropriate plan. These children are highly unlikely to live with their birth families so we urgently need suitable families who can offer them permanency.

“There would be very definite advantages to placing these babies early on. It would avoid any issues caused by terminating temporary foster care placements and would allow the early months and years of their lives to be what most children need and expect. In turn, prospective adopters can establish bonds and provide a loving family at the earliest possible stage."

Prospective adoptive parents go through the usual adoption process as well as attending a ‘Skills to Foster’ course.

“This route to adoption only happens in exceptional cases where a child’s chances of going back to their birth family are remote - often there is a history of neglect or abuse - and no other option is suitable for them," says Sarah.

“There will always be a degree of uncertainty but each case is different. Our adoption team would be able to talk through options and offer advice and support."

She adds: “These new measures are still in their infancy, but experience tells us that the benefits of consistent care for the child from the earliest stage of their life, are immeasurable."

* Call 0800 018 3001 or visit kirklees.gov.uk/fosteringforadoption