Adoption-special-guardianship-support

Adoption Support

As an adoptive parent, you will still get support from us after the Adoption Order has been made. In Aspire, we have experienced social workers, support workers and clinical psychologists who are on hand to help you through the years ahead. As a consequence of what may have happened before he or she came to live with you, your child may have developed ways of coping which make it difficult for them to form relationships and manage their emotions and behaviour.

The local authority which placed your child with you is responsible for assessing your adoption support needs for three years after the Adoption Order was made. After three years, it becomes the responsibility of the local authority where you live to assess your needs and to provide support to you and your family.

Aspire provides adoption support services on behalf of BCP Council and Dorset Council, so if you are entitled to adoption support from any one of those local authorities, contact us in Aspire.

We also offer support to adopted adults and birth relatives of those who have been adopted.

What adoption support services do we offer?

We have a specialist Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Team in Aspire and operate a daily duty service within office hours. The team manager of the team acts as the Adoption Support Services Adviser (ASSA) to coordinate services to all of those whose lives have been touched by adoption. This includes adopters, children and young people who have been adopted, adopted adults, and birth relatives of those who have been adopted.

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Counselling, advice, and information to anyone whose life has been touched by adoption.
Social events and support groups for adoptive families including an annual picnic in the summer and party at Christmas; evening support groups for adopters, for adopted adults and for birth parents; coffee mornings for parents and their pre-school children; and activity events for adopted teenagers.
Ongoing training and access to parenting skills courses for adoptive parents.
Therapeutic services for adoptive families via our experienced and skilled staff, and externally via funding from the Adoption Support Fund.
Support to adopted adults who wish to access their birth and adoption records, and advice about tracing birth family members.

Support to birth relatives whose family members were adopted.

On behalf of both local authorities, Aspire manages all of the indirect exchanges of information (letterbox) between adoptive families and birth relatives and some direct contact arrangements, including those set up before July 2017.

Aspire also offer an independent support service to birth relatives, run on our behalf by the voluntary adoption agency PACT

Our Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Team are happy to help

Available during office hours on 0300 123 9868, email us at aasgsduty@aspireadoption.co.uk, or get in touch below.

For more information, please download our brochure

Do you have a question about adoption?

Working together to deliver Aspire Adoption Services

Aspire Adoption