CoramBAAF responds to BBC investigation – Adoption: The Blame Game
CoramBAAF has issued the following response to the BBC investigation Adoption: The Blame Game and calls for a full review of the support for adopted children and families across all services, so that our most vulnerable children receive the right support at the right time.
Children who need adoptive families are some of the most vulnerable in our society and all will have experienced early childhood trauma and loss. They all have individual needs, sometimes highly complex, and require not only the support of their families, but that of the services around them. The devastating accounts of adoptive families illustrate how challenging this can be, even when adopters do everything they can to get the right support for their family and children. It is deeply upsetting to listen to the stories of families struggling to get the services they need in extremely difficult circumstances.
We continue to work with our partners in calling for a full review of the adoption support system, especially in the light of the recent cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF). We know that there is also a need for greater support from schools, mental health services and other agencies.
Despite its complexities, evidence suggests that adoption remains a positive outcome for children where this is the right plan for them and there is the right support in place. At a time when we desperately need more people to offer homes to these children, it is vital that they can feel confident they will be able to get the support they need when they need it as adopters. We therefore call on the government to urgently carry out a full review of the support for adopted children and families across all services, so that we can ensure that our most vulnerable children receive the right support at the right time. We must get this right for the children at the heart of this.