Adoption and fostering seekers given new support

A new organisation to support children and young people seeking adoptive and foster families has been created by the Scottish Government,

Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell announced today that £75,000 funding has been invested to allow the Adoption & Fostering Alliance Scotland (AFAS) to take on the necessary services following the closure of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) in July.

AFAS will be responsible for training, consultancy and expert advice to professionals – areas that BAAF Scotland had led on in the past. BAAF Scotland staff will transfer to the new organisation.

St Andrew’s Children’s Society has already been appointed to run Scotland’s Adoption Register.

Ms Campbell commented: “We’ve worked very closely with the sector and local authorities since we were made aware of the unfortunate collapse of BAAF to ensure that the support and services it provided remains in place in Scotland. We acted quickly in July to secure the national Adoption Register and today we are announcing the creation of Adoption & Fostering Alliance Scotland. This means that families and their support workers know that they can continue to access training and advice from specialists.

“This funding means that we have ensured that no services have been lost following the closure of BAAF, protecting the support for families and the professionals who work with them. We have also protected the majority of BAAF Scotland jobs.”

Rhona Pollock, legal consultant to the new Alliance, added: “We are delighted to be able to offer an independent, multi-disciplinary Scottish voice that supports those involved with children and families and those affected by adoption, fostering and kinship care. We will strive to promote permanently better lives for children in Scotland and look forward to working with other agencies in achieving this.”