Making contact with the child
If you are applying for the adoption of a very young child or infant, you will very likely be meeting a child staying in the temporary foster care.
The temporary foster parents are specially trained caregivers who provide all necessary care in their home until the situation is resolved by placing the child in a permanent family setting. The child is thus saved from staying in an institutional facility. Thanks to this the child can appreciate individual attention, can learn to establish relationships and most naturally, receive all the necessary impulses for his future successful development in the new family.
In this case, the regional authority workers will first introduce you to the staff of the organization assisting the given foster family. With their help, you will plan and build a gradual contact with the child. They will assist the subsequent transfer of the child to your care, ensuring the process is as sensitive as possible. You do not need to worry – the foster parents have been preparing the child for the arrival of new parents. The foster parents will also provide you with valuable advice and information. They will know how well the child sleeps and eats, what he likes, enjoys and vice versa. They will know what the child responds to and how he needs to be treated. You can ask them for further advice even after your child is already at home.
If the child was living in one of the institutional care facilities (in the children’s centre, a facility for children requiring immediate assistance, or in a children’s care home, etc.) before the adoption, you will be informed through a regional office employee about the visit to the facility.
In this case, prepare your questions for the director of the facility, the doctor, or the educator you would meet. After all, those people are currently taking care of the child and know him best.
Further contact will depend entirely on the individual circumstances, taking into consideration the child needs, your possibilities, but also on the agreement with the facility management.
The infants are usually not problematic to start a contact when getting to know them. However, if the child has severe health problems, you might need to learn to handle the care of your baby under the guidance of a health professional. In this case, most of the infant care homes and children’s centres can offer you a several-day stay in their facility so that you can learn how to care for your child properly.
The situation can be more difficult with older children. You should be prepared to respect the understandable initial distrust, to have enough patience if the child is timid and distant. Imagine what the child has experienced before, how many educators have changed in his life – why should he trust you right away? Don’t push them, don’t force yourself, give the child the time he needs. This is the only way to create a mutual affection that will help the child to move from the institution to your family more easily.
Contact with the child can take place inside or outside the facility. Initially, you can take your child on walks, and as soon as the situation allows, the child can be released for a weekend or extended stay. The director of the facility approves the child’s stay outside the facility after the prior written consent of the competent municipal authority from the municipality with extended competence.