Assessment for adoption: the parent's perspective

The assessment process for prospective adopters can be a daunting one, and the criteria for assessment can vary at times according to agency policies, social research findings and changing social values. From the prospective adopters perspective, these criteria can become a series of obstacles to achieving their goal of creating a family. Some of these criteria are considered here, with case examples, to demonstrate how at various stages, from a couple's first contact with an agency through to their presentation to Panel it can become difficult or impossible to proceed with an assessment.