We run several working groups, chaired by regional adoption agency leaders, that aim to look at the process holistically to improve matching services.
Adoption England brings together multi agency partners to focus on the improvement of linking and matching services within adoption.
The Matching Practice Development Group
The Matching Practice Development Group focuses on current practices around family finding, linking, and matching. It consists of representatives from Regional Adoption Agencies (RAA) across England, responsible in overseeing family finding and matching for their areas and also includes Voluntary Adoption Agencies (VAA) and local authorities. Group members come together regularly to share practice experience with an aim to collectively learn, improve and develop matching practices. The National Family Finding Lead from Adoption England chairs this group.
The Matching Practice Development Group acts as a stimulating platform as it works collaboratively towards innovative ways of considering, empowering and delivering change to enhance family finding and matching practices for children and adopters across England. For example, group members along with colleagues across the sector have developed the National Matching Practice Standards and are collectively working towards standardising other matching practices across England, where possible, with an aim to achieve consistency in matching practice.
The group's work aims to reduce delay, improve quality of matching, and create consistency in family finding and matching practise and performance.
Matching projects
Adoption England has commissioned several projects across the country relating specifically to family finding and matching. Regional adoption agencies, voluntary adoption agencies and local authorities are committed to improving the child's journey through adoption and are engaged in some of these projects focusing on different themes relevant to matching.
Projects underway for reducing delays for children especially children who we know wait longer.
In the South West, there is a focus on improving permanence and matching for children with disabilities. The project aims to increase understanding of parents planning for children with disabilities and/ or complex needs. As part of this plan, research partner from the REES centre has published a report ‘Placing Children with Disabilities with Adoptive families’ which is available nationally.
In the South East, there is a project focused on supporting the local authorities to improve the quality of sibling assessments with the goal of improving outcomes for brothers and sisters.
In Coram Ambitious for Adoption, a Step-up Family Finding programme has been implemented for priority children in a large area, with appointment of an Outreach Ambassador to support the recruitment and support of black, minority and ethnic adopters. This offers a programme of family finding, training and skills development to improve matching practises.
Amongst other matching projects, some RAA's have had opportunities to appoint dedicated family finding and matching leads to focus on improving family finding processes with a focus on children waiting specifically those who are deemed as priority children, to coordinate and improve matching opportunities and avoid delays, where possible.
The national Family Finding Lead from Adoption England is also working closely with colleagues across the sector to increase opportunities for face to face family finding events for children and prospective adopters to attend along with their connected professionals, which has seen a positive increase in children being linked and matched to prospective adopters.
There are a number of projects focusing on collaborative and creative family finding practices and matching strategies, particularly for children who wait the longest, with aim to improve outcomes for children.
Benefits for children
Improved and speedier permanency opportunities through early, consistent, and accurate assessment of matching and placement needs.
Greater placement stability earlier - placement and better understanding of children’s support needs.
Earlier attachments, reducing impacts of trauma and loss and improving life outcomes.
Providing the Best possible permanency opportunity for all children in the system by ensuring those likely to wait longer are identified earlier and family finding plans put in place.
Reducing delay for children by Diversifying the regional pool of adopters.
Benefits for adoptive families
Greater placement stability from tailored, informed adoption support packages secured at the point of placement
Increased equality of opportunity in finding the right match through coordinated national family finding (adds value to regional approaches to matching for children who wait longer).
Confidence to come forward to adopt due to greater transparency within the system
Adopters more more aware of the needs of children waiting and better prepared to meet them.
More Timely matching and placement leading to earlier attachments.
Resources linked to family finding and matching
Adoption England has commissioned the creation of various resources and tools, that will be available nationally to support agencies with family finding and supporting children and families.
AFDiT – Anti-Racist Framework for decision making in transitioning children from minoritised racial and ethnic groups into transracial adoptive families. This tool is being created and developed primarily by a Dr Tam Cane, researcher from University of Sussex along with support from people with lived experience of adoption and colleagues across the sector and it is in its pilot stages. The tool is aimed to be used by practitioners to support with the decision making around transracial adoption.
Transracial matching virtual training resources - Two sets. Sharing people's lived experience of adoption is the first one aimed for prospective adopters, whilst the other is specifically for practitioners. Both will offer information to support with understanding the needs of children who are placed transracially, including recognition of child’s identity needs and the significance of this.
Film productions - A range of short films have been produced as a guidance of understanding range of conditions and what these might mean and how they could affect an adopted child and their adopted family. The range includes Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder, autism, bloodborne diseases, emotional and mental health, attachment and information about childhood adverse experiences and trauma.