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Evaluation of regional adoption agencies: final report
- Authors:
- ECORYS UK, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. Rees Centre
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Education
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 131
- Place of publication:
- London
This is the final report of the evaluation of regional adoption agencies (RAAs) which reviewed the progress of RAAs over time focusing on the four main objectives of the programme (adopter recruitment, reducing unnecessary delay, adoption support and cost efficiencies), alongside any other impacts achieved. The report includes new information, such as findings from the adopter research strand, the longitudinal analysis of the SSDA90317 and ASGLB18 data and an analysis of costs. The regionalisation reforms were intended to reduce the large number of agencies providing adoption services and create 25-30 RAAs. Overall, in the longer term, RAAs were expected to provide: better outcomes for children and adopters; reduced practice and performance inconsistencies; more effective strategic management of the service, delivering efficiency savings; and a culture of excellence in adoption practice through strong partnerships with the Voluntary Adoption Agency (VAA) sector. The findings from this evaluation paint a complicated picture. The qualitative research commonly provided positive perceptions of certain changes brought about due to the introduction of RAAs (amidst challenges resulting from systems change and the COVID-19 pandemic), and a main theme was that RAAs have led to improved collaboration and practice. However, this was only partially reflected in outcome data – with some positive impact around timeliness but negative impact in relation to adopter sufficiency. Furthermore, whilst the amount of adoption support appeared to have increased, adopters reported long delays in accessing it. Strong leadership was central to the implementation of the RAA programme at regional and national level. For newer RAAs or those which did not have stable leadership, there were negative consequences, and it was harder to make that shift where different LA voices were felt to be dictating how things were done in the RAA, making it challenging to adopt a standardised approach. (Edited publisher abstract)
Evaluation of regional adoption agencies: adoption support: research brief
- Authors:
- SMITH Kate, et al
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Education
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 16
- Place of publication:
- London
This research brief is informed by research conducted between 2018 and 2021 as part of the evaluation of Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs). The brief covers three key areas: early intervention; providing targeted and specialist support; assessing the quality of adoption support. The evaluation involved in-depth, longitudinal case studies with seven RAAs plus interviews with other RAAs, RAA projects and national stakeholders, as well as research with adoptive parents. This research brief draws evidence from the qualitative research with Heads of Service (HoS), strategic stakeholders, operational managers and frontline staff working in and with RAAs, plus a survey on post-adoption support completed by 208 approved adopters and in-depth interviews with 31 approved adopters exploring their experiences of the adoption processes. The research found that commonly RAAs began to develop a broader offer of universal support available to all adoptive families without first requiring an assessment of need. Early intervention approaches used by RAAs included: introducing adoption support earlier in the adoption journey; providing advice and support lines for adoptive families to access information from adoption support teams easily and in a timely way; creating adoption support drop-in clinics, held at regular intervals such as monthly or weekly; increasing the provision of informal communication channels for adopters, including activities such as coffee mornings, picnics and social media groups; more structured peer mentoring offers, often starting from the adopter preparation stage and tailored to children and family needs; developing a database of resources and free-to-access workshops on issues like screen time, parenting teens and surviving social media; widening support networks through remote provision during the Covid-19 pandemic; buying into dedicated early help resources such as Adopter Hub. (Edited publisher abstract)
Narey, Narey, quite contrary
- Author:
- NAQVI Shahid
- Journal article citation:
- Professional Social Work, February 2013, pp.14-16.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Martin Narey was appointed as the Goverment's 'adoption tsar' two years ago, and has faced criticism from some social workers for his outspoken views about the care and adoption system in England. In this article Martin Narey talks to the author and explains how he feels his views have been represented. He refutes a number of the views attributed him: that adoption should be encouraged as an alternative to abortion; that he said siblings should be separated to allow more children to be adopted; that he is against post-adoption support; and that he is against kinship care. He also discusses his views about speeding up the adoption process.
Adoption panels: the tide has changed
- Author:
- MAHMOOD Safda
- Journal article citation:
- Family Law, 42, November 2012, pp.1388-1392.
- Publisher:
- Jordan
The ‘Government Response to the Family Justice Review: A System with Children and Families at its Heart’ was presented to Parliament in February 2012. One of the recommendations in this document was for the removal of the requirement for an Adoption Panel to be responsible for considering the suitability of the child for adoption. In response, in September 2012, there were changes made to the function of Adoption Panels. The purpose of this article is to describe these changes in detail. The article starts by describing the position of Adoption Panels prior to September 2012 before explaining the various changes. It describes the role of the Agency Decision Maker, who plays a demanding and significant part of the new process, and the types of cases which are now prohibited from being referred to the Adoption Panel. Adoption Panels will continue to fulfil a significant role, including considering whether to recommend the approval of prospective adopters, as well as recommending a match.
Adoption: research note
- Author:
- THOMAS Sian
- Publisher:
- National Assembly for Wales. Research Service
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Cardiff
Adoption is one option in a package of support for children and families. The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government sets out a commitment to ensure that children live within their own families where this is in the child’s best interests. When things go wrong, families should be assisted to resume the care of their children following a period of alternative care or, where this is not possible, a permanent alternative family should be sought. The adoption of looked after children has received increasing attention from the UK and Welsh Governments. The creation of a national adoption service for Wales is one of the areas of consultation for the proposed Social Services (Wales) Bill. This research note outlines the main issues that are relevant to adoption in Wales. It explores the role of the courts, hard to place children, support after adoption, and mentions the proposed National Adoption Service for Wales.
International adoption from Russia
- Author:
- ANGELL Naomi
- Journal article citation:
- Family Law, 40, October 2010, pp.1125-1127.
- Publisher:
- Jordan
The majority of international adoptions by British families are now from Russia. However Russian adoptions are not automatically recognised in the UK. This article discusses some of the legal issues relating to the adoption of children from Russia by British families.
The Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) regulations 2009: consultation on draft regulations
- Author:
- SCOTLAND. Scottish Government
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Government
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 48p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This document accompanies the draft Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) Regulations 2009. It sets out the policy behind the draft regulations and seeks comments on a number of issues within the regulations. The consultation period runs until 19 December 2008.
The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
- Author:
- PLUMTREE Lexy
- Journal article citation:
- SCOLAG Journal, 357, July 2007, pp.137-138.
- Publisher:
- ScoLAG(Scottish Legal Action Group)
This article looks at the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, including its background and Parliamentary progress, and at the provisions for adoption specifically.
Choice and flexibility: draft regulations on maternity and adoption leave and flexible working
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Department of Trade and Industry
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department of Trade and Industry
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 61p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The Government is publishing, in draft, its proposals to amend the Maternity and Adoption Leave Regulations and the Flexible Working Regulations, following commitments made in the Government’s Response to the Work and Families Consultation in October 2005. The Government’s intention is that maternity and adoption regulations will apply to the parents of children expected to be born, or placed for adoption, on or after 1 April 2007; and the flexible working regulations will apply from April 2007. The purpose of publishing the regulations in this way is to invite comments on their drafting, and seek views on some remaining areas of detail, before final regulations are prepared and provided to Parliament later in 2006.
A comparative study of adoption
- Author:
- THOBURN June
- Publisher:
- University of East Anglia
- Publication year:
- 2000
- Pagination:
- 32p.
- Place of publication:
- Norwich
This review of adoption and alternatives to adoption in five countries was commissioned by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies. The purpose is to provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses and of ‘best practice’ in countries which have similar problems to those encountered in the UK. The countries examined are the USA, Australia and Sweden, and New Zealand and Norway.