Adoption enquiries in Wales rose by a third during lockdown

Adoption enquiries in Wales have risen by more than a third since April, according to new figures.

The figures released by the Welsh Government from the National Adoption Service indicate a 36% increase in adoption enquiries during April – June 2020 in comparison to the same period last year.

The news comes alongside the announcement of the £2.3m support fund from the deputy minister for health and social services, Julie Morgan.

The support fund will:

• support the Adopting Together programme, which aims to support children who wait 12 months or more to find an adoptive family
• continue the roll-out of the TESSA scheme in Wales including:
  • clinical psychology based family assessment
  • support psychology / education courses
  • a national peer support network
• provide a new support and information service for children and young people
• promote life journey work to help a child make sense of their past and understand their future
• help develop best practice frameworks for adoption support and evaluate the National Adoption Service improvement programme and the framework

In March, the National Adoption Service adapted quickly to the challenges presented by the pandemic and restrictions on face to face contact and travel.

Visits to prospective adopters and adoption panels moved online so the service was able to continue in its work to find families for children with an adoption plan.

This month, the adoption service relaunched Become the parent only you could be, a campaign to help people from all backgrounds recognise their potential to be an adopter.

The service is looking for people who can give children the safety, security and love they need and encourages anyone considering adoption to contact their local adoption agency to take the first step and find out more.

‘While the past few months have been a challenging time for everyone, we have been working hard to evolve and continue to match families in Wales, safely,’ said Suzanne Griffiths, director for the National Adoption Service Wales

‘By offering our services remotely through email, telephone calls and video conferencing, we have been able to support more people on their adoption journey. It’s promising to see this hard work result in more people coming forward.’

Photo Credit – Geralt (Pixabay)