Is you house big enough?
I was told in no uncertain terms that to adopt you need to have a separate bedroom for each adopted child.
It was always my dream to adopt a couple of children but because I live in a two bedroom house and I could not afford to either move or extend, I was told that I could not adopt again - so with sadness I had to shelve my plans of adopting a sibling for my son.
Imagine my shock when I bumped into Nigella (who lives in the same Borough as me), who informed me that they had just bought home their second son. 'Have you moved?' I asked, knowing that they rented a two bedroom house, 'No', came the reply. Further enquiry revealed that they had no problem with their social worker and the Home Study, where it was accepted the two boys would share a room for the forseeable future.
I could not believe it.
I refered to a social worker and was told that it isn't really a 'fixed rule' and it depends on the 'feelings' of the social worker. Again another example on the non standards and something that I bitterly resent, as one child will have to live their entire life in an institution without a loving family, and my son will never have a brother or sister, because my social worker 'felt' that adopted children should have their own room.
Janice's sister-in-law died of AIDS in Zambia and they desperately wanted to adopt their three nephews. However, they only had a three bedroom house and already two children, the last I heard the social services were reluctant to begin the adoption process.
So the guide line is that each child has its own room, but this is according to the 'feelings' of the social worker - and if they do accept the children to share a bedroom it is likely that it will only be permissible for same-sex children.
On a by note, children in orphanages sleep in mixed sex dormitories.
There is no rule regarding the overall size of your house ie in sq metres.
