Module 7 - Preparing for assessment
Couples with their names on the Expression of Interest Register who meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to be assessed as prospective adoptive parents through an ordered process.
The following factors are considered in determining the order in which couples are invited to be assessed:
- Couples where one or both partners are from the same cultural background as the child.
- Couples who are willing to adopt a child with specific needs, for example, a child with a medical condition or disability, or the potential to develop a medical condition (this is subject to Commonwealth immigration health requirements).
- Couples who have already adopted a child from the country in which they are wishing to adopt a second child.
- Couples who have experience caring for children either in their family or work lives.
- Couples who have expressed interest in being assessed as prospective adoptive parents.
Couples on the Expression of Interest Register will also be required to meet specific criteria set out by the country they wish to adopt from in order to move forward to assessment. It is very important to be familiar with the requirements of the overseas countries you may be interested in. However, before the assessment process can begin, couples must have:
- established their eligibility
- been invited to progress their Expression of Interest to the assessment stage
- demonstrated an understanding of adoption and its complexities by acquiring knowledge or participating in available education programs
- paid the prescribed assessment fee
- completed a family profile.
Structure
This module is structured as a number of topics:
- Departmental assessment considerations
- Assessing a couple's suitability
- Meeting the assessment criteria
- The assessment process
- Placement considerations
- Assessors - their perspective
- Establishing a family tree and Ecomap
- Suggested reading
- Last updated
- 19 October 2007
