Fostering and Adopting - Teenagers

Fostering and adopting teenagers is not necessarily an easy task, but it can literally save the life of a teenager who has no one else to which they can turn. Fostering, or taking teens in temporarily, allows them to have a safe haven after traumatic or troubling circumstances. Adopting, or making a teen a legal member of your family, gives teens a second chance at the kind of life that they deserve. Families who feel that they have enough love to give should consider investigating more about fostering or adopting teenagers.

Fostering Teenagers in the United Kingdom

When a teenager is fostered it means that the Local Authority is legally responsible for the teen, but families or individuals are needed to carry out the day to day tasks of caring for him or her. How long a teen remains fostered will depend upon his or her specific case. For example, teens with certain disabilities may remain in the care of the Local Authority for the rest of their lives while other teens may only stay in the care of the Local Authority until they reach a legal age limit and still others may return to their own family if circumstances permit. Foster parents who undertake responsibilities for teens are paid for their efforts, usually a weekly fostering fee plus maintenance per child. Each teen that is fostered generally has a care plan that provides more information on the types of decisions made regarding his or her best interested. People interested in becoming foster parents should contact their Local Authority to find out more about fostering in their area.

Adopting Teenagers in the United Kingdom

Younger teens in the United Kingdom who can not live with their birth families are fostered by the Local Authority, meaning that the government has legal responsibility for them and they live with temporary foster parents. Individuals who want to make these teens a legal and permanent part of their families will need to be approved first by an adoption agency and then by the Local Authority. This also holds true for individuals who wish to adopt teen relatives, teens from other areas of the country and teens from other countries. When teens are adopted, an Adoption Order is issued. This means that the birth parents have no further legal rights or responsibilities regarding the teen and the adoptive parents assume them instead. Once an Adoption Order is issued it can not be revoked. However, teens may desire to keep in touch with their birth families in the manner of an “open adoption”. This is something that each family will need to work out for themselves.

Fostering and adopting are both means by which teens are given new, safe, supportive homes. While fostering tends to be a more temporary measure, adopting is permanent. However, both are important in order to remove teens from unhealthy environments and allow them to move towards a brighter future. Individuals who would like more information on becoming a foster parent or an adoptive parent should contact the Local Authorities in their area to find out about these processes.