Adoption support
Last updated: 04 June 2009 15:36 UKThe majority of children who are placed for adoption will have been removed from their birth families due to issues of neglect or abuse.
Some will have experienced many moves in their early lives and may have had a number of different carers. Some will have been affected by exposure to drugs and alcohol pre birth.
We know that these experiences may have implications for children as they grow into adulthood and that, as adoptive parents, you may need to seek professional advice from time to time.
At different times throughout your child’s life you may find it helpful to talk to someone outside of the family about issues related to adoption. Our support services can offer:
- the chance to meet up with other adoptive families
- training on specific issues
- discussion and counselling on any aspect of adoption
- an assessment of your adoption support service needs
- a monthly drop in session with an educational psychologist and a clinical psychologist from children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
If you want to access any of these services, please call the adoption team on 023 9287 5294.
We work in partnership with Adoption UK to offer three year’s free membership to all newly approved adopters. Through Adoption UK we also provide a buddy support scheme to support adoptive parents in the early stages of placement or later at a time when adopters may be experiencing a particularly difficult time.
Most children placed for adoption nowadays will have some ongoing contact with a significant person from their birth family or past. This may take the form of written information via the Portsmouth adoption information exchange. This may happen once a year (occasionally more) and will be an exchange of letters, and perhaps photos, between the birth family and a child’s adoptive family.
Some children may have continuing direct contact with birth family members. This may be with a birth parent, grandparent or siblings living elsewhere. Where it’s considered to be in the child’s best interest, direct contact usually happens once or twice a year but may be more frequent depending on the child’s needs.
