The Welsh government has announced new fostering and adoption measures following the collapse of a major charity.
Earlier this year, the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) closed with immediate effect, citing poor economic conditions. BAAF was one of the largest fostering and adoption charities in the UK, running the adoption registers for England and Wales.
In its absence, the Welsh government has announced that the country’s register will now pass to the National Adoption Service. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that adoption agency the St David’s Children Society has set up a new body to handle training and legal advice called the Association for Fostering and Adoption Cymru @ St David’s. It will also provide a helpline for professionals and the public. In order to save jobs, the new service will recruit former BAAF staff members.
Welsh Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford called the new measures “a step towards making the [adoption] register even more effective and easier to use”. There has been “no interruption” to services in Wales, he claimed.
The new structure would “strengthen and secure” fostering and adoption services in the country, he added.
Mr Drakeford also hoped that a replacement for BAAF’s review mechanism – which reconsiders previously rejected applications from potential adopters – would be announced “very soon”.
