Supporting adoption: vision and priorities - statement

4. Our Vision

Loving, safe and stable relationships are, above all else, the most important aspect of care for every child. For some of our children, this is best provided in an adoptive family.

Our vision is for adoption in 21st century Scotland to be open and responsive. It should continue to evolve and change to meet the unique needs of our children and young people, as well as adult adoptees, and to be responsive to wider changes in society and practice.

Encouraging greater openness in adoption means supporting healthy transitions and enabling children and young people to maintain important relationships, where it is safe and beneficial to do so. It also means support for life journey work to help children develop a coherent narrative of who they are and why they were adopted.

The impact of adoption on all involved is lifelong. This must be recognised and normalised across society. Universal and specialist services should understand adoption and the impact it can have on children and families into and through adulthood. Recognising the complexities that an adoption journey can bring, they should respond in a sensitive and trauma informed manner, and provide support accordingly.

Young adult, adopted at the age of six

“Adoption is not the beginning or end of a child’s story; it’s the start of a beautiful new chapter. Biology is the least of what makes a happy family. The only true key component of a happy family is love. Adoption is a long journey with lots of loss and struggles. However, the joy, happiness, and security you help a child or children experience makes it all worth it!”

Our vision means that:

• All children and young people who are adopted in Scotland should receive love, care and support to enable them to live happy and fulfilled lives.
• Children and young people’s needs now, and in the future, are at the heart of decisions about which route to permanence is in their best interests.
• Children are found loving homes as quickly as possible, with prompt matching to families who are well placed to meet their needs.
• Adopters from diverse communities are recruited, prepared and supported to meet the complex needs of individual children, young people and sibling groups.
• Children live with their siblings where this is in their best interests. Where this is not possible, they should be supported to have ongoing meaningful connections with their siblings and other people important to them.
• All those involved in caregiving understand the significant impact that pre-birth and early childhood trauma have on children’s physical and mental wellbeing, and embed this into practice to support our children to thrive.
• Adoptive families should feel equipped and well-supported by practitioners, and the ability of the workforce to act with care and compassion should be prioritised.
• Support to adoptive families should be there as long as they need it and focused on the key principles of intensive family support as set out in the Promise Plan 24-30.
• People impacted by adoption, including adult adoptees, are supported throughout life, with services that meet their needs in a trauma informed and responsive way.

Our vision is underpinned by five strategic priorities, set out in Section 6 and informed by the needs of those impacted by adoption (Section 5). We are committed to working collaboratively with practitioners and those with direct lived experience of adoption to develop and deliver any changes.