Statement of Purpose
The purpose of West Dunbartonshire Council Adoption Service is to ensure the recruitment, preparation, matching and support of adoptive families for children requiring a permanent alternative family by this route.
West Dunbartonshire Adoption Service will work to ensure that every child requiring an adoptive family in West Dunbartonshire will be valued and helped to realise their potential.
Aim
To provide secure and stable adoptive families that provide the opportunity for children to grow, develop and realise their potential.
Objectives
To achieve this West Dunbartonshire will:
Principles
Value and respect individuality and diversity;
What do we do?
We aim to provide a service to all parties affected by adoption which meets their individual needs.
Children
When children are looked after and accommodated by the local authority and cannot return to their family, all their needs, including health, education and development are assessed. Where an adoption is the appropriate plan, the service will support their preparation to joining an adoptive family, which where possible, reflects their cultural, religious and linguistic background. We aim to have the plan agreed within the prescribed timescales. We seek to involve the child in the preparation of this plan and introductions to a new family, in a manner which is responsive to their age and stage of development. Their ongoing needs will be identified and individualised adoption support plans completed.
We promote ongoing contact, either direct, information exchange or by other means, between the child and significant other from their past, where this is in the child’s best interest. We provide support to enable the children to be provided with memory boxes, including their life story and later in life letters.
Birth Parents
We seek to involve parents and ascertain their views when adoption is the recommend plan for their child. This will be achieved through their attendance and contribution to looked after and accommodated child reviews and meeting with an independent Adoption Social Worker prior to the Fostering and Adoption Panel.
Birth parents views will be sought on their cultural, religious and linguistic preferences for the child’s upbringing. We aim to offer advice and counselling to parents whose children will be placed with adoptive parents.
Prospective Adopters
We provide information on the needs of children, the range of adoption service, the criteria of eligibility and the assessment and approval process for domestic and inter-country adoption.
We aim to provide preparation groups, including the opportunity to learn from adoptive parents.
We fully engage prospective adopters in the assessment process and will ensure that they are advised of any concerns as they arise.
Post Adoption Services
We aim to provide post adoption services to adopted children and adults, birth families and adoptive families. This service is provided by West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership and can be delivered by social work staff.
Post adoption services include counselling, assistance to adoptees to trace the origin, adoptive family and support and management of post adoption letterbox and other contact arrangements.