A Glimpse Into Our Adoption Journey

24th Feb, 2025

*No names for confidentiality*

The following is an account of an adoption journey told by the parents themselves, who we would like to thank for allowing us to share their story.

We adopted our son through Family Care Adoption Services.

We found Family Care to be very approachable in our first contact with them. They were so informative and supportive throughout the whole process.

The assessment process happened quite quickly and although it’s extremely thorough which it needs to be, we really enjoyed it and found it quite therapeutic in prepping for our new addition! This consisted of home visits, pet assessments, along with homework and courses to attend / books to read. Once approved we attended several ARIS Exchange Days (*see details below*) which were online due to COVID. ARIS Exchange Days are where you look at different profiles of children who are waiting on their forever homes, these days were emotionally tough and a real eye opener!

We first seen our son at an ARIS Exchange Day we attended in 2022, there was just something about him and we expressed an interest in him via the relevant social workers, every step after this was taken carefully and one day at a time, you are given more information at each step before being officially matched with your child. The next step was to meet the current foster carers to find out more about our future son. Then dates for meeting our son and placement are decided by all involved – this included us, our child’s social worker and our social worker from Family Care.

In order to find out more information about our son we met up with anyone who had been involved with him – his doctor, health visitor, nursery teachers etc it’s all very informal, everyone is just so happy that a match has been made!

The next afternoon we headed to the foster carers home to meet our son for the first time and we’ll never forget it, seeing his wee face and how he greeted us! The next few days you spend more and more time together, doing different things with him, putting him to bed, taking him out, playing etc. He visited our home with his foster carers and then after about 10 days of spending time with him we picked him up from his foster home and brought him home! The first few days are a complete blur in the most amazing way, he just quickly became a massive part of our family, trusting us and also teaching us a lot! It was like he had always been there!

The first few weeks do also come with challenges, everyone getting to know each other, and the new normal. Adoption does come with some challenges for sure but they are far overshadowed by the benefits. Our son has completely changed our lives for the better and we are overjoyed that we get to do the same for him. Watching him thrive in everything that he does makes us so proud that we get to be a part of his journey.

We have also enjoyed meeting other families and children involved in the adoption process through various social events arranged by Family Care. This has proved to be a great support.

If you have ever considered adoption we would highly recommend contacting Family Care Adoption Services to find out more about the process.

*‘ARIS’ refers to the Adoption Regional Information System, a regional adoptive family finding database that stores details of all children awaiting adoption and all approved adopters across Northern Ireland.

The purpose of ARIS is to collate data to inform adoption agencies and prospective adopters about the circumstances of children waiting for adoptive families.

Its primary function is to improve the chances of children finding adoptive families by suggesting links in cases where Health and Social Care Trusts have not been able to place children with a suitable family from their own pool of approved adopters.

Exchange Days are special events held every 6 months by ARIS where prospective adopters can find out about children who are waiting for a family. Adopters will see a presentation on each child or sibling group. Social workers provide information about the children’s personalities, interests, daily routines, early experiences and placement needs.

Photos and film footage of the children are shared. After the presentations prospective adopters have a chance to talk to the children’s social workers and with their foster carers. Exchange Days allow adopters to be actively involved in the matching process and adopters can express an interest in a child who they believe might be suitable for them. *