Adoption UK – Adoption Barometer report published

Over 300 Welsh adopters contributed to this first UK wide ‘stocktake’ of the experiences of adoptive families.  The full report and executive summary is available on the adoption UK website

https://www.adoptionuk.org/the-adoption-barometer

Ann Bell Director of Adoption UK in Wales said

“The Adoption Barometer indicates that Wales and England were performing at a very similar level in 2018, and these countries scored best in our report. There has been a much bigger financial investment in England, but in Wales a culture of close cooperation within the adoption sector has brought real improvements. The Welsh government has also very recently committed additional funding for post adoption support.

The Adoption Barometer shows the scale of the challenge adopters still face, and Adoption UK Wales will continue to work with and press government to do more.”

Suzanne Griffiths Director of NAS commented

“The National Adoption Service for Wales welcomes the 'Adoption Barometer' which is the first comprehensive and UK wide analysis of adoptive family experiences. The report shows that adopters’ experiences in Wales compare well. Despite the fact that adoptive parenting can have its challenges, 84% of Welsh respondents would encourage others to adopt.

“The need for further improvement and more support identified in the report is something we recognise from our own work. We will use this to ensure that our priorities remain focused on what is important to adoptive parents and their children.

“Since the study was undertaken, the National Adoption Service has received a £2.3 million investment from Welsh Government specifically for improving services including support for families. We’ll be working closely with our local authority regional adoption services and partners in the third sector to deliver further improvements. ”