The Narey Report on Adoption - Adoption UK response
5 Jul 2011
In response to the report published in today's Times, Adoption UK's Chief Executive, Jonathan Pearce, has made the following comment:
Adoption UK’s Chief Executive Jonathan Pearce said:
“Martin Narey’s report is important and timely. It rightly addresses many of the key issues in contemporary adoption. In particular, the emphasis on early intervention into the lives of children living in abusive and neglectful families, and pursuing care and adoption as a positive plan, is vital to improving the lives of children and their future families.
While Adoption UK as a national membership and support charity for adopters supports much of the analysis and many of the recommendations, what is clearly missing is the input of adoptive parents and families, and the importance of adoption support services to them. This oversight downplays the reality of adoption for many families, who – irrespective of the age at which children are placed with them – can struggle on a daily basis to parent their children, many of whom display significant and challenging emotional, behavioural and developmental difficulties stemming directly from their early experiences of abuse and neglect. These struggles include difficulties in accessing appropriate support services, not only from social services but just as importantly from therapeutic, mental health and educational support services.
We believe serious consideration should be given to a national adoption agency, or at least a consistent national approach to adoption, especially if there is a strong focus on the recruitment and preparation of adopters and on adoption support. Adopters and the parenting relationship they have with their children are key to the success of adoption, and without such a focus, plans to place more children for adoption are unlikely to succeed in recruiting more prospective adopters.
It is right to concentrate on intervening earlier in children’s lives and speeding up the care and adoption system, but this will not reduce the need for adoption support. As the report indicates, many children are taken into care from families with major alcohol and drug misuse issues, which includes children being harmed in utero and leading to a future diagnosis of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Currently, such children are removed at or shortly after birth, and while even earlier intervention and placement will be beneficial, it will not remove such a diagnosis, or the need for longer-term support of adoptive families.
This is but one example of the sorts of issues experience by adoptive families, and that in some cases lead to adoption disruptions or breakdowns. We agree with Martin Narey’s observations that breakdown figures should not be seen as a sign of failure; rather Adoption UK would argue that they are a major sign of the support needs of all adoptive families, and more should be done to collect reliable data on the levels and causes of adoption breakdowns.”
Ends
For further information:
Erika Pennington, Adoption UK – erika@adoptionuk.org.uk or 01295 752960.
Website: http://www.adoptionuk.org/
Notes for Editors:
Adoption UK
- Adoption UK is a registered charity (number 326654) established in 1971 and a registered Adoption Support Agency.
- Adoption UK is the only national charity run by and for adoptive parents. The charity’s aim is to provide and support a self-help network for adoptive parents to explore the unique social, emotional and developmental needs of adopted children and young people and their families. Through this network, Adoption UK also promotes effective learning practice, based on over 35 years’ experience of adoptive parenting, which is integrated with current theories of trauma, attachment and development.
- Adoption UK supports parents before, during and after the adoption process
- Members have experience of adopting in UK and abroad, from babies and toddlers to teenagers, with a wide range of medical, emotional, physical and learning difficulties.
- Membership represents multicultural Britain.
- The Online Community launched in November 2003 and won Charity Website of the Year 2004.Key features include message boards, letters, library of resources, database of real life experiences, special features and daily news. Over 80% of visitors are UK-based however the site has been embraced by people touched by adoption around the world.
- Adoption UK offers a range of other services to adoptive families, including: a national telephone helpline; access to local support groups throughout the UK; contact networks; Adoption Today and Children Who Wait magazines, information leaflets and publications; training programmes and courses; and a lending library.
- Adoption UK also lobbies and campaigns on behalf of the concerns of adoptive families.
Tel: 01295 752240. Helpline: 0844 848 7900.
National Offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A downloadable version of this press release can now be found on the Current Press Releases page.