When people think of adoption, often they conjure an image of just the one child, in fact many couples have a number of children and this is no different if you are an adopter.
Some adopters decide they want to adopt multiple children, perhaps a set of twins or older/younger siblings who are in foster care together. In this instance, the prospective adopter will complete assessment for more than one child.
If brothers and sisters are in foster care together, adoption agencies try to place them with families who are able and willing to adopt more than one child with the aim of keeping the sibling bond strong rather than separating them.
Some adopters prefer to adopt one child and then wait a short period of time before adopting a second one. The second and first child may have no blood relationship at all and in this case become brothers and sisters through adoption. It’s not uncommon for others to adopt a younger sibling of the child they have already adopted (if the birth mother has a second child).
Adopting additional children from the same mother in separate stages is perfectly normal, for the best chance of success, let your social worker know as they can keep this in mind for if and when the time comes.
Adoption agencies recommend that adoptive parents leave around a year to 18 months between adoptions, this gives the parent/s time to adjust to their new addition and also gives the child much needed time to develop and settle into family life. This way, when the time does come to introduce another child, the change will feel more natural.
Once the time is right and you feel ready to start your second adoption journey, contact your local agency and they will begin a new assessment for you. If most of your circumstances have remained the same since the first assessment, you might find the process much faster.
The second assessment will differ slightly from the first in the way it will also assess how you have managed adjusting to your first child, and how an additional child will fit into your family/what measures will be taken to manage a second child.
Adopt Wales are a series of adoption agencies in Wales. For further information on adopting a second child contact your local adoption agency.