LilMtnCbn
08-20-2004, 05:51 AM
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=14551837&met
hod=full&siteid=50082&headline=adoption-process-letting-down-welsh-childre
n-name_page.html
Welsh children let down by adoption Aug 20 2004
Anna Morrell, The Western Mail
THE most vulnerable children in Wales are being let down by local authority
care services, according to a damning new study.
It found that children in care are missing out on the chance of adoption
because of the "inefficient or poor" way potential parents are dealt with.
The study author, George Cooney, director of St David's Children Society -
Wales' main voluntary adoption agency - said authorities assume couples only
want to take babies. Because of this assumption, he claims, older children are
losing out on the chance of being part of a family.
His study, undertaken as part of an MA degree at Cardiff University, found that
people inquiring about adopting are often put off by a poor or inefficient
response from adoption authorities, particularly if they say they want to adopt
a baby.
"These are kids who could be yours or mine," said Mr Cooney. "The lives of
children in care are often fragmented and in some cases utterly broken. Some
are children with no history of attachment to adults or families.
"Their young lives are about transition rather than permanence. The findings of
this research suggest that adoption agencies need to do more to ensure that
children do not experience further delays because of apparently unchallenged
assumptions."
Mr Cooney's research found that 19 out of 21 families across Wales, who had
contacted St David's Children Society, had already approached at least one
other adoption agency first and hadn't found the response to be supportive. In
some cases families had approached three or four adoption agencies meeting
similar negative responses.
"My research found that many of these families report being informed that there
were very few infants available and the adoption agency infant lists were
closed," said Mr Cooney. "The families said that little if any further
discussion took place. In some cases, the adoption agencies didn't even respond
to inquiries for infants."
His research also found that people who initially considered adopting a baby
were often prepared to adopt older children instead. This finding directly
contradicted assumptions made by most adoption agencies.
"While it is the case that fewer infants are now placed for adoption, my
research identified that while these 19 families had made an initial inquiry
for an infant or toddler, all later adopted an older child or a sibling group
of children," Mr Cooney said.
"It seems the need to be a parent was a greater driving force in these cases
than the need to have a baby.
"What made the difference was an emphasis on a constructive process of
engagement."
The research findings, said Mr Cooney, suggest that there is "a powerfully and
commonly held assumption is that many childless families will only consider
infant adoption placements".
This assumption could perhaps be a key factor, partly responsible for directly
reducing the number of potential new families available for adoption, he said.
Mr Cooney says assumptions like this are down to under-funding and inefficiency
in the care services.
"It is well known that social workers are often faced with many pressures such
as under staffing, heavy caseloads, low pay and poor morale.
"Often there is not the space to challenge or question commonly held
assumptions."
There are about 285 children in Wales who need to be adopted. That is out of
the 4,219 who were in the care of local authorities last year.
The other children are in foster homes, children's homes or living with their
families. Only about five of those up for adoption are babies.
Mr Cooney said, "We have to invest in these vulnerable children - for their
sakes and for society as a whole.
"The care experience generally does not provide children with good outcomes -
figures from the Department of Health (2000) show that 40% of prisoners under
25 are ex-care leavers, 40% of homeless adults are ex-care leavers and three
out of four young people who leave care have no formal qualification."
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said, "Adopting a child requires a great
deal of commitment and people wishing to do so need to have easy access to the
right help and support.
"The Welsh Assembly Government has been consulting on the 2002 Adoption and
Children Act and will be issuing new guidance and regulations to simplify the
adoption system by September 2005.
"This Act puts the child's interests first and ensures that people wishing to
adopt receive the advice and support they need to provide the children with a
stable and loving home."
A spokesperson for the Welsh Local Government Association refused to comment.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
hod=full&siteid=50082&headline=adoption-process-letting-down-welsh-childre
n-name_page.html
Welsh children let down by adoption Aug 20 2004
Anna Morrell, The Western Mail
THE most vulnerable children in Wales are being let down by local authority
care services, according to a damning new study.
It found that children in care are missing out on the chance of adoption
because of the "inefficient or poor" way potential parents are dealt with.
The study author, George Cooney, director of St David's Children Society -
Wales' main voluntary adoption agency - said authorities assume couples only
want to take babies. Because of this assumption, he claims, older children are
losing out on the chance of being part of a family.
His study, undertaken as part of an MA degree at Cardiff University, found that
people inquiring about adopting are often put off by a poor or inefficient
response from adoption authorities, particularly if they say they want to adopt
a baby.
"These are kids who could be yours or mine," said Mr Cooney. "The lives of
children in care are often fragmented and in some cases utterly broken. Some
are children with no history of attachment to adults or families.
"Their young lives are about transition rather than permanence. The findings of
this research suggest that adoption agencies need to do more to ensure that
children do not experience further delays because of apparently unchallenged
assumptions."
Mr Cooney's research found that 19 out of 21 families across Wales, who had
contacted St David's Children Society, had already approached at least one
other adoption agency first and hadn't found the response to be supportive. In
some cases families had approached three or four adoption agencies meeting
similar negative responses.
"My research found that many of these families report being informed that there
were very few infants available and the adoption agency infant lists were
closed," said Mr Cooney. "The families said that little if any further
discussion took place. In some cases, the adoption agencies didn't even respond
to inquiries for infants."
His research also found that people who initially considered adopting a baby
were often prepared to adopt older children instead. This finding directly
contradicted assumptions made by most adoption agencies.
"While it is the case that fewer infants are now placed for adoption, my
research identified that while these 19 families had made an initial inquiry
for an infant or toddler, all later adopted an older child or a sibling group
of children," Mr Cooney said.
"It seems the need to be a parent was a greater driving force in these cases
than the need to have a baby.
"What made the difference was an emphasis on a constructive process of
engagement."
The research findings, said Mr Cooney, suggest that there is "a powerfully and
commonly held assumption is that many childless families will only consider
infant adoption placements".
This assumption could perhaps be a key factor, partly responsible for directly
reducing the number of potential new families available for adoption, he said.
Mr Cooney says assumptions like this are down to under-funding and inefficiency
in the care services.
"It is well known that social workers are often faced with many pressures such
as under staffing, heavy caseloads, low pay and poor morale.
"Often there is not the space to challenge or question commonly held
assumptions."
There are about 285 children in Wales who need to be adopted. That is out of
the 4,219 who were in the care of local authorities last year.
The other children are in foster homes, children's homes or living with their
families. Only about five of those up for adoption are babies.
Mr Cooney said, "We have to invest in these vulnerable children - for their
sakes and for society as a whole.
"The care experience generally does not provide children with good outcomes -
figures from the Department of Health (2000) show that 40% of prisoners under
25 are ex-care leavers, 40% of homeless adults are ex-care leavers and three
out of four young people who leave care have no formal qualification."
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said, "Adopting a child requires a great
deal of commitment and people wishing to do so need to have easy access to the
right help and support.
"The Welsh Assembly Government has been consulting on the 2002 Adoption and
Children Act and will be issuing new guidance and regulations to simplify the
adoption system by September 2005.
"This Act puts the child's interests first and ensures that people wishing to
adopt receive the advice and support they need to provide the children with a
stable and loving home."
A spokesperson for the Welsh Local Government Association refused to comment.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
