Adoption
Children of all ages and needs may be adopted - legal process which permanently transfers the responsibilities and duties of a birth parent to an adoptive parent.
We are always looking for local families to provide much needed, permanent, homes for local children.
In Derbyshire, as in most other areas, only a few babies each year are offered for adoption. But there are many others, from under fives to single school age children, disabled children of all ages, family groups of brothers and sisters and children from different ethnic groups.
The decision to adopt a child needs careful thought and there is information in this section of the website to help you make the right choice.
You can also contact us Monday to Friday between 9am and 12.30pm on 01629 532280 or by email adoption@derbyshire.gov.uk.
We cover the whole of Derbyshire and do not make any charge for any of the adoption services provided.
The adoption service is informed by the Adoption Act 1975; The Adoption Agency Regulations 1983; The Children Act 1989; The Adoption Agencies and Children Regulations 1997; The National Minimum Adoption Standards 2011; The Adoption and Children Act 2002; The Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005; The Adoption Agency Regulations 2005.
Latest Ofsted report
The Government's education watchdog, Ofsted, carried out an inspection of our adoption service in October 2011 and found it to be good with some outstanding features.
Follow the 'praise for our adoption service' link in the Also on this website section of this web page to find out more about Ofsted's report.
Related documents
The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)
- Guide to Adoption Support (84KB)
- Childrens Guide to Adoption 1 (178KB)
- Childrens Guide to Adoption 2 (264KB)