Renfrewshire resident Sharon adopted her little girl as a single parent a year ago and said she feels like she’s had Charlotte forever.
She said, “I’ve had her for a year now and she couldn’t have settled in any better. Becoming Charlotte’s mum has been a long one, but I received lots of support from my social worker.”
Sharon started her adoption journey in 2021 after seeing posts during Adoption Week Scotland. She made an enquiry and then the team arranged a phone appointment.
“I was asked a few questions and told about the overall process,” she explained about the phone call. “My first interview call was then arranged and I was asked some more questions about why I wanted to adopt, my lifestyle, etc.
“I was delighted to find out after that call I’d been accepted to attend the adoption preparation groups in the new year. The groups were great but also a lot of information about adopting a child to take in.
“Afterwards, I was allocated a social worker. who came out to my house every week and we discussed lots of different things. We would cover a different section every week, such as my own childhood, how I would parent, what experience I had looking after children, what type of child I wanted to adopt. Some of these conversations were difficult to have, however, my social worker made me feel comfortable and able to talk about them.
“The hardest part of the process for me was the wait to be matched. Even though you still have contact with your social worker, it can feel like nothing is happening even when things are happening in the background. It was still quite hard, but I was lucky and got matched with my little girl pretty quickly.
“I’m a single parent of my beautiful four-year-old girl and I still receive support from the team. The adoption process was a long one, but definitely worth it.”
Anyone considering adopting can find out more by emailing childrenandfamilies@renfrewshire.gov.uk or calling 0300 300 1199.
If you would like more information, visit: https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/adoption.
Please note that both Sharon and Charlotte are fake names we’ve used for real people.