Following the formal approval of the applicants, prospective adoptive parents will be allocated a social worker (usually the one who completed the assessment with them) who will remain in contact with them. They will also be offered additional preparation and invited to a group for prospective adopters awaiting a placement.
The social worker will immediately identify children from the consortium whose profile matches that of the prospective adopters. Some prospective adopters have to wait a considerable length of time before a suitable “match” can be made. This often reflects the range of children they can be considered for, based on their ability to take children with disabilities; emotional and behavioural problems; older children; or children where there is a degree of legal uncertainty. They can also discuss referrals to nationwide networks (e.g. Scottish Resource Exchange). It should be noted though that the children referred to these tend to have complex needs.
The post-approval waiting time can be a frustrating period for prospective adoptive parents and they should remain in contact with their social worker to discuss this. They will also have an annual review of their registration where they may reconsider some or all of their options, such as extending the age range of children who could be placed with them.