Our Action on Adoption

by the SNP
Posted on
7 years ago
2 min read

This week is the first ever Adoption Week Scotland – a celebration of adoption in Scotland, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the continued need for adoptive families.

The SNP want Scotland to be the best place in the world for all children and young people to grow up.  When a child or young person can’t live at home, we want to make the process of finding a stable and loving family as quick and simple as possible.
Here’s the actions we are taking to make that happen.
 
We’re streamlining processes to reduce the amount of time young people spend waiting for a permanent home.
Since its introduction in 2011, the Adoption Register has helped to streamline the process of adoption, and over 300 families have now adopted children after being matched through the Register.  But there is still more we can do.

We have moved Scotland’s Adoption Register to an online system, to bring families together and reduce the amount of time potential adopters and children wait for a placement. This system will be safe and secure, and for the first time, prospective adopters will also be able to look for matches directly.

We’re continuing ‘activity days’ where prospective adopters and children can meet.

A number of trial ‘activity days’ have been held over the last year, to allow children and potential adoptive families to get to know each other in a safe, fun and informal environment. We will double the number of activity days held in the future, with six events held across the country.

We’re supporting local authorities to deliver a permanent home more quickly for looked after children and young people.

We are providing expert support to local authorities so they can bring agencies and professionals together through their Permanence and Care Excellence programme. This programme aims to ensure more children have a permanent home more quickly by reducing delay in the system.

We’re providing funding for a range of charities and organisations.

We provide funding to a number of charities and organisations working with professionals, looked after children and families. This funding helps to maintain and expand Scotland’s adoption register, recruit more adopters and foster carers, maintain the adoption contact register for Scotland and operate the national adoption advice line.

Adoption Week Scotland runs from 21 to 27 November. Find out more here.