Adopt BC Kids is the first website of its kind in Canada, capturing all the foster children available for adoption and prospective families in one accessible database.
The new system provides automatic matching between families and children, meaning matches should occur more frequently with minimal effort. Families that have been approved can view photos and videos of children without going into their social worker’s office, and send emails directly from a link on the child profile they are interested in to their worker.
Prospective parents can narrow their search by different criteria such as for example:
- the age range of kids they are interested in adopting
- whether or not they can adopt a sibling group
- if they are willing to consider providing a permanent home to a child with special needs
Parents can also track which required documents have been received by the ministry and their status in the process.
Families no longer need to go into a local office and book an appointment with a social worker, instead they can get all the information they need online. They can also attend an information session online rather than having to wait for in-person sessions, which run every month or two.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development hopes the new system will save prospective families time. The online system eliminates waiting for information sessions, for the office to open to drop off an application, for an appointment with an adoption worker, or the busy worker to process the application etc. Specialized staff have also been put in place to process adoption applications, so prospective adoptive parents don’t have to wait for an adoption worker with a full caseload to process their documents.
Adopt BC Kids is a secure site and only users who have completed a full criminal record check, home study and have been approved to adopt can access the site and browse adoptive children’s profiles.
If you are interested in becoming an adoptive parent to one of B.C.’s waiting children or youth, call 1 877 ADOPT-07 or visit: www.gov.bc.ca/adoptbckids
