If we didn’t hear back after one week of expressing interest, we used to send a follow up message requesting an update. In our case, we always heard back relatively quickly after expressing interest - we never waited more than a couple of weeks (however, this might be different for other people). Normally it was the child’s social worker that would lead on arranging a home visit if they thought we could be a match (this was arranged directly by the child’s social worker with ours). When discussions progressed and we had a strong feeling about a particular child after reading their CPR, we had a chat with our social worker. Our social worker was always in copy as part of Linkmaker discussions.

In our case, before we adopted, we expressed interest in children on Linkmaker without discussing it in advance with our social worker and shared our PAR with other social workers. In any situation, if in doubt, ask your social worker. It is reasonable that you should be kept in the loop, and your social worker will advise you on how soon and how often to ask for an update, and whether you or they should do this. There can be a lot of complex issues holding things up medical assessments, legal processes, ongoing discussions with other families. Once a discussion in underway, weeks or even months can go by before you receive an update. Make sure the right people are in touch, but only discuss a child if you know that both social workers are comfortable with this. Children's social workers will have their own views - some will be glad to talk directly to you, while others will only want to talk to your social worker. Make sure that you know your social worker's preference - they may be happy for you to have direct contact, but will often prefer to have a discussion themselves first.

Is your social worker happy for you to show interest in profiles yourself, or will they do this on your behalf? Do they expect you to inform them before you show interest? How many expressions of interest do they feel it is appropriate for you to have at one time (up to the limit of 5 on Link Maker)? There is no 'one-size-fits-all' with any of these questions, and your social worker's advice might change over time… keep talking. You can hand over the ability to edit your profile to you social worker for a period of time if you prefer, via your settings page. Review your profile together - is it is a good representation of you? Your social worker has the advantage of seeing other families' profiles, and can help make sure yours covers all of your strengths. As well as general points (such as how often you will meet together), we suggest the following topics in relation to family-finding on Link Maker: Make sure you understand each other's expectations, to avoid any frustration and misunderstanding. Plan your family-finding with your social worker. Sometimes the process can be frustrating and draining, and you may prefer your social worker to use Link Maker on your behalf – they can do everything you can. Link Maker is designed to help adopters to be involved in family-finding, but ‘adopter-led’ matching isn’t for everyone. There is some advice on this from Link Maker on page 4 of the user guide, here: I have copied the relevant part below - I hope this helps.

Linkmaker proffesion