How to Adopt a Child in Wales: The Complete Step-by-Step Process

Most people researching adoption in Wales spend weeks trying to piece together the process from regional authority websites, outdated leaflets, and adoption forums — only to find that Wales runs an entirely different system from England. This guide cuts through that confusion with a clear, stage-by-stage breakdown of the actual NAS Wales process.

The Welsh System Is Not the Same as England's

Wales adopted a completely different model when the National Adoption Service (NAS) launched in November 2014. Instead of England's Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs), Wales uses a three-tier collaborative structure: a national NAS centre in Cardiff, five regional collaboratives covering all 22 local authorities, and individual local authorities who remain the "legal parents" of children in care.

Your first point of contact is NAS Wales — marketed as Adopt Cymru — not your individual council. This single entry point means you get a nationally consistent process wherever you live, from Wrexham to Swansea.

The five regional collaboratives are:

• North Wales Adoption Service (NWAS) — Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Wrexham, Isle of Anglesey
• Vale, Valleys & Cardiff (VVC) — Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf
• South East Wales (SEWAS) — Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen
• Western Bay Adoption Service — Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend
• Mid and West Wales (MWW) — Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Powys

You can also apply through a Voluntary Adoption Agency (VAA) like St David's Children Society or Barnardo's Cymru — both are regulated by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and work within the NAS framework.

What Children Are Actually Available?

Before diving into the process, it's worth being honest about who is waiting. In 2023/24, approximately 250 Adoption Orders were granted in Wales, with 222 children waiting for families at year end. The vast majority of those children are:

• Aged 2–8 — healthy babies are rarely placed for adoption in today's system
• Part of a sibling group — two or three children needing to stay together
• Children with additional needs — diagnosed or likely developmental delays from early adversity
• Children of mixed or specific cultural heritage — where a language or cultural match matters

This isn't a reason to hesitate — it's a reason to go in with realistic expectations. The system desperately needs families willing to consider these children.

Stage 1: The Pre-Assessment Phase (Up to 2 Months)

Once you submit your Registration of Interest (ROI), the agency has 10 working days to confirm your entry to Stage 1. This stage runs for a maximum of two calendar months and is designed to surface any absolute bars before both parties invest further.

What happens in Stage 1:

• Enhanced DBS checks — criminal record checks for all adults in the household
• Local authority checks — checks covering the previous 10 years across every council area where you've lived
• Medical assessment — your GP completes a full health report reviewed by the agency's medical adviser; this covers your physical and mental health history in detail
• Personal references — a minimum of three references, including people who know you in different capacities
• Preparation training — a mandatory group training programme covering the realities of adoption, the UNCRC rights framework, and the Active Offer of Welsh language services

At the end of Stage 1, the agency issues a pre-assessment decision. Most applicants pass. Those who don't typically have serious criminal convictions or medical circumstances that prevent long-term parenting.

Stage 2: The Full Assessment (Up to 4 Months)

If Stage 1 is clear, you have up to six months to decide to proceed to Stage 2. Once you confirm, the four-month clock starts.

Stage 2 is conducted by a qualified social worker who builds the Prospective Adopter's Report (PAR) — the formal document that goes to the Adoption Panel. Under the Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005, the PAR must cover:

• Your childhood, family background, and significant relationships
• Current household composition and the views of everyone who lives with you
• Your understanding of trauma, attachment difficulties, and therapeutic parenting
• Your ability to support a child's identity — including Welsh language if relevant
• Your support network and resilience

The social worker typically conducts 5–7 in-depth home visits. These feel intrusive because they are — the social worker needs to form a genuine picture of your household, not a curated one. Many adopters find Stage 2 harder emotionally than expected, but the average completion time across NAS Wales is 5.3 months from first enquiry to approval.

The Adoption Panel

The PAR is presented to an independent Adoption Panel, which includes an independent chair, a medical adviser, social workers with adoption experience, and independent members (often including adopted adults or birth parents). You are invited to attend.

The panel makes a recommendation — not a final decision. That rests with the Agency Decision Maker (ADM), a senior manager who must decide within statutory timescales after the panel meeting.

If your application is not approved, you have two options:

1. Submit further evidence to the original agency panel
2. Apply to IRM Cymru (Independent Review Mechanism) — a Welsh Government-funded independent panel that reviews the case within 40 working days

Matching and the Wales Adoption Register

After approval, matching begins. Your regional collaborative looks locally first, but if no match is found within one month of approval, you are referred to the Wales Adoption Register (WAR) — a national database hosted on Link Maker. NAS also runs Adoption Activity Days where approved adopters and social workers representing children meet in a structured, child-centred setting.

In 2023/24, 84% of Welsh children were placed within Wales — the highest rate since 2016. The push is to keep children close to home, in families that can support their cultural and linguistic identity.

When a match is identified across regional or agency lines, the placing authority pays an inter-agency fee to the agency that approved you (£37,059 for a single child in 2024/25). This is handled between agencies and doesn't affect your process.

From Match to Adoption Order

Once a match is confirmed:

1. Introductions — a graduated period where the child spends increasing time with you before moving in
2. Placement period — the child lives with you under a Placement Order; legally, they remain in care
3. Adoption application — after at least 10 weeks of placement, you apply to the Family Court using Form A58
4. Celebration Hearing — once the judge makes the Adoption Order, many Welsh courts invite the family back for an informal celebration with photos; the child receives a new birth certificate with you as legal parents

What About Babies?

Infants available for adoption are uncommon. The system prioritises returning children to birth families or placing them with relatives under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) before adoption is considered. If adoption is the plan, it typically isn't confirmed until the child is 1–2 years old and care proceedings have concluded.

The Welsh Early Permanence (WEP) programme is the closest route to caring for a younger child. It allows children to be placed with foster carers who are simultaneously approved adopters — so if the court confirms adoption as the plan, there's no disruption. If reunification is ordered, the WEP carer supports that transition instead. See the foster to adopt Wales post for full details.

How Long Does the Whole Process Take?

The NAS Wales assessment averages 5.3 months from Registration of Interest to approval panel. Add matching time — typically 6–18 months depending on the child profile you are approved for — and most families complete the process in 12–24 months from first enquiry to placement.

For a full breakdown of every document, checklist, and preparation strategy, the Wales Adoption Process Guide covers all stages in detail, including a week-by-week preparation timeline and panel preparation templates.

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