Alison and Sophie's story
Alison Davis, a 48-year-old TV freelancer from north London, adopted Sophie, six, with Norwood’s support last year.
“I wanted to be a mum and felt that adoption was the best option for me,” she said. “From a practical point of view, as a single adopter I felt adopting a school age child would be better. I didn’t want to adopt a baby and then have to go to work after six months.”
She approached Norwood in late 2008 having made an initial enquiry with her local authority, and also because she wanted to explore the possibility of adopting from abroad. She began the assessment process in 2009, was approved by Norwood’s adoption panel in March 2010, and four months later was successfully matched with Sophie, who had been in foster care for several years.
“Norwood was immediately very positive and I liked the fact that, as a smaller organisation, they responded quickly and there was more of a personal touch. Through the process, I was prepared as you can be for adopting an older child, in terms of their background, what they have been through and how this impacted on them.”
She acknowledges that the first few months were quite difficult as she and Sophie adjusted to their new life together.
However, she said: “Life is really fantastic now. It’s the best thing I ever did and I cannot imagine life before Sophie. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She has continued to receive post-adoption training and support from Norwood and has been put in touch with other adopters in a similar situation.
“I know that if I never need to, I can pick up the phone someone from Norwood will be there,” she said.
Heather and Andrew’s story
Heather Price, 48, and her husband Andrew Cooper, 58, from north London, adopted two children of dual heritage, Joseph, four, and Rosie, two, through Norwood. The couple, who met when Heather was in her late 30s, put themselves forward as adopters after undergoing four unsuccessful cycles of IVF.
After approaching their local authority in 2004, who told them they were unlikely to be able to adopt a younger child in the UK, they contacted Norwood, which runs an inter-country adoption service. Heather had also made an unsuccessful approach to her local authority in 2000 as a potential single adopter. Following their approval as adopters, it took approximately six months for Norwood to locate a baby of Hispanic, African and Irish descent in the United States and, in December 2006, they adopted Joseph.
When they decided to adopt a second child, changes to the law meant adoption in the US was no longer a realistic option. However, due to their son’s heritage, their Norwood social worker advised them that they may wish to reconsider domestic adoption because it could improve their chances of adopting a child from a different ethnic background. They also decided to consider adopting a harder-to-place child from a challenging family background.
Following their decision, they again went through an assessment process, which included home visits by their Norwood social worker, and attended workshops about how to care for children with additional needs. Having been approved for adoption, they then contacted several local authorities until they were matched with Rosie, who they adopted last November.
“It’s been the most extraordinary miracle,” said Heather. “We thought we couldn’t have children, and now we have two wonderful children who we adore and who also get along really well together. We’re very grateful to Norwood for making it happen.”
“The most important thing about Norwood’s support was that our social worker was very well-informed and really proactive. She was able to navigate us through numerous obstacles by assessing exactly what sorts of children we could adopt, help us make decisions that we’d be comfortable with, and link us with local authorities from across the country and gain the necessary information from them. She really worked hard to understand us as people - our histories and our strengths. We also had the feeling that if we needed more support, they would have given it to us.”
Some names have been changed to protect identities.
Jane and Mark’s Story
Jane and her partner Mark, who live in north London, adopted siblings Charlotte, eight, and Thomas, nine, through Norwood in April, 2008. By the time they met in 2004, the couple were in their 40s and discovered they were unable to have a child naturally. After discounting IVF, they began to research overseas adoption as a possibility and chose Norwood due to its expertise in this area.
After some consideration, however, they decided to embark instead on the domestic adoption route and, following an assessment process which included home visits, went before Norwood's adoption panel in September 2007. Having been approved for adoption, their Norwood social worker started the process of locating potential adoptive children from across the country that met their criteria.
By November, Norwood had found two siblings in the north of England who had been placed on the adoption register and the couple applied to become their adopted parents. Following a successful interview with the responsible local authority in January 2008, and a follow up 'matching panel' meeting in March, they were introduced to the children in early April and brought them home two weeks later. Following the adoption, Norwood continued to provide support, such as a parenting course from which they gained important information and ideas.
"It's been an incredible journey,” said Jane. “Of course, it has had its challenges, but overall it has been one of joy and happiness. Norwood provided tremendous support and we cannot thank them enough."
"Norwood's value was that everyone was extremely positive about the process. Some local authorities can paint quite a bleak picture and talk about the worst case scenario, which can be quite demoralising. When we met people at Norwood, it was so refreshing to experience an 'it's possible' attitude, especially when things became frustrating. They were also quite accommodating. We're busy people with jobs, but the social worker was very flexible over home visits."
“We also found the preparatory work very useful. For example, our social work might ask us to write about our backgrounds. What we didn't know was that she would use our text to create a report that went to the matching panel. So it seemed like hard work at the time, but it meant that our personalities shone through, according to the panel."
All names have been changed to protect identities.
