Scotland has seen an increase in the number of ‘adoption parties’ which are being held in a bid to help increase the number of children who are in care finding permanent homes and families.
The events, which have been based on initiatives which began in the USA, sees parties where children in care will meet individuals and couples who are looking to adopt. The parties involve the children and adults completing activities over the course of an afternoon.
There has been hesitation in some quarters because of the potential for making children feel vulnerable, and feeling like they are being out on parade.
Similar events which have taken place in England and the USA have been successful according to supporters of the events. They say that the events work especially well for children who are regarded as older or difficult to place, who may not otherwise find a home or a family.
Scotland’s Adoption Register has run a pilot scheme, backed by the government, that lets those who have been approved to adopt make links with children across the country.
The project was launched in 2011, and in 2012, the Register introduced ‘adoption exchange days’, which allowed potential parents to read about children who need homed, as well as looking at photos of the children, their toys and their drawings.
The manager of the Register, Robin Duncan said that he understands how people will be wary of the adoption activity days to begin with. He said that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure that the children are prepared for the activities, with the necessity of such days as part of a process which leads to adoption explained to them.
He said that the experiences he had working with vulnerable children was that it was possible to ‘manage the process’, meaning that children will be protected from feeling that they are unwanted, or have been rejected.
Duncan said that the majority of this management came down to preparation. He said that children who are already vulnerable are going into these events knowing that people are there to adopt children, so there is the risk of further vulnerability if they are not chosen.
As a social worker, he says the way to deal with this is to explain to the children the reasons that they were unable to remain with their own family, and the importance of social workers in being able to find them the right family to be able to stay with.
He said that in explaining this to the children, they will begin to understand that this is just one part of a process, not the final step of a process. In helping the children think this way, he says that children are protected from feeling rejection.
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