Adoption Support
As an adoptive parent, you will be able to access support from us after the Adoption Order has been made. Your child may have developed ways of coping which make it difficult for them to form relationships and manage their emotions and behaviour, this may be due to their early life experiences. The staff at Adoption West is made up of experienced social workers and support workers who are available to offer support with this.
The local authority which placed your child with you is responsible for assessing your adoption support needs for three years after the Adoption Order was made. After three years, if your family requires adoption support then this is accessed through the local authority where you live, who will assess your family’s needs.
Adoption West works with Birth Links to offer a support service for adopted adults and for birth relatives affected by adoption. It aims to provide advice, support, information and guidance. You can find out more about this service here or by following the Birth Links icon below.
Further information for adopted adults is available here.
Adoption West provides adoption support services on behalf of the local authorities in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Open to all
Social workers in our support teams are available to talk about any difficulties or issues you may be having and discuss what support could be helpful. We offer universal services available to all adopters within our region this includes;
- Advice/helpline/duty: We have dedicated social workers available every working day: 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Fridays. Our Team are here to offer support and advice, so feel free to give them a call on 03303 550 333 with any questions or concerns
- Direct advice and signposting to organisations that maybe able to offer informal support
- Direct contact arrangements
- Letterbox Service
- Events for adopters and children
- Newsletter
- Support groups
- Training including parenting programmes
Social Work Assessment / Intervention required
Delivered locally in each Hub for families with emerging adoption support issues/concerns that cannot be solely met in Tier One. In order to access this level of support, families need to complete an Assessment of Need with an Adoption West Social Worker see our ‘Process for Accessing Support’ diagram for more information on this.
Tier Two Support can include;
Specific ongoing social work support
- Support with contact issues
- Life-story work
- Access to Virtual School Lead for support to address education issues
- Access to Therapeutic Consultation
- Specialist groups – NVR , Parenting Our Teens, Groups for young people
Specialist Therapeutic Intervention
Currently provided by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF).
The ASGSF provides funding to help adoptive parents pay for therapeutic services following adoption.
To access the Fund, you will need to have an assessment of your family’s adoption support needs. Contact us to request an assessment.
If the assessment identifies that therapeutic services would be beneficial to your family, Adoption West will apply to the Fund on your behalf
Who can access adoption support services?
We operate a daily duty service within office hours, to take initial enquiries from families and individuals seeking support, this includes adopters, children and young people who have been adopted, adopted adults, and birth relatives of those who have been adopted.
The three year rule
The local authority which placed your child with you is responsible for assessing your adoption support needs for three years after the Adoption Order was made. After three years, if your family requires adoption support then this is accessed through the local authority where you live, who will assess your family’s needs
How can I access support?
We have an open-door approach whereby you can contact us with adoption related problems or queries. We have dedicated duty officers available every working day: 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Fridays to offer advice and support and they can take a referral for adoption support.
The phone number for all support enquiries is 03303 550 333.
