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About us

We are the fostering and adoption  service for The Highland Council. We need families for children of all ages, including those with special needs, older children and siblings.

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We want to improve outcomes for vulnerable children in Highland by providing and maintaining a high quality and effective fostering and adoption service. We value our carers and offer training and support.   Children come into our care for a wide range of reasons including lack of parental care. Each child is unique, different and special, and deserves the chance to flourish in a stable home.

You can fill out our enquiry form to show your interest. We will be very happy to hear from you and you could make a difference to a child's life.

Ask us about fostering and adopting

Give us feedback

We are are committed to providing a good quality service, so please let us know how we can improve our website or if you are unhappy with anything.

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How to complain

Information on how to make a complaint.

Resources and help

We recommend the following sources of advice about adoption and fostering:

Help for adopted adults

If you have been adopted we can offer help and support. We provide a counselling service to adults who want information about their birth history.

Placing your child for adoption

Adoption is a way of providing a child with new legal parents beyond childhood into adulthood.

When a child is adopted, it ends the legal relationship between the parents and their child and establishes a new one with the adoptive parents.    Adoption transfers all the parental rights and responsibilities to the adoptive parents. Adoptions are made legally binding by the Court.

Arranging an adoption

Adoption can only be arranged by approved adoption agencies.  Highland Council are an approved adoption agency.

Consent

When an adoption application is being heard by the court, we must be satisfied that you, the birth parent(s) who have parental rights and responsibilities and all guardians of your child agree fully and unconditionally to the order being made. You must give your consent in writing.

The adoption agency will also want to ask your child about what he or she thinks about adoption. Children over the age of 12 years must give their own consent to adoption.

If you do not agree to the plans to have your child adopted and do not give your consent, there is a legal process where the Local Authority can apply for a permanence Order with Authority to Adopt.