Adoption

Adopt in Shropshire through our regional adoption agency - Together4Children

We're a proud member of Together4Children, the regional adoption agency for Shropshire in partnership with Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Telford and Wrekin Council.

Working together means that we can offer greater choice and a better support service for both children and adopters. The four authorities will share information about all of their children and the available prospective parents, but each council will retain responsibility for children from its area.

As the regional permanency partnership, Together4Children will work across the four local authorities to deliver a range of adoption services, including:

  • Recruiting and assessing adoptive families
  • Finding families for the children from our region who need adoptive families
  • Providing adoption support services to adopted children, their families, birth families and adopted adults.

You can find out more by visiting the Together4Children website.

You can also follow Together4Children on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with our latest news.

Adopting a stepchild

You need to tell us if you want to adopt your spouse’s or partner’s child.

The adoption assessment to adopt a stepchild

The process to adopt a child you live with is similar to an assessment through an adoption agency. You must do this at least three months before applying to a court for an adoption order. To be able to start an assessment the child must also have lived with both of you for at least six months.

The assessment is used to help a court decide whether you can adopt the child (rather than being sent to an independent adoption panel).

The court will ask your local council to provide a report on:

  • Your partner
  • The child
  • The other birth parent

The report will be prepared by a social worker and will be used to help the court to make a decision. If granted, the adoption court order gives you parental responsibility for the child - along with your spouse or partner.

The order also takes away parental responsibility from:

  • The child’s other birth parent
  • Anyone else who has parental responsibility for the child

An adoption order cancels any other type of court order, such as how and when the child’s birth parent can visit the child. For more information: