New report finds fostering and adoption services in Scotland performing well

Fostering and adoption services in Scotland are continuing to perform well, the Care Inspectorate has said.

A new report published this week shows that 90% of Fostering services and 95% of adoption services were evaluated ‘good’ or better by inspectors.

At 31 December 2018 there were 32 local authority fostering services and 28 independent fostering services.

There were 3,758 approved foster carer households at 31 December 2018, down from 3,823 the previous year.

In 2018, local authority services approved fewer new households than the previous year (210 compared to 227) and independent services approved more (160 compared to 138).

In 2018, 41% of fostering services experienced a net loss in foster carer households (compared to 45% in 2017).

The number of children and young people using fostering services decreased from 5,315 in 2017 to 5,171 in 2018.

An increasing number of children and sibling groups were placed in households approved by independent services between 2015 and 2018. At the same time, a decreasing number were placed in local authority approved households.

In 2018, independent services were less likely than local authority services to place siblings separately and where they did, the most common reason cited was ‘following assessment’, while in local authority services the most common reason cited was ‘lack of resources’.

At 31 December 2018 there were 32 local authority adoption services and six independent adoption services.

There were 280 new adoptive households approved in 2018, down from 317 in 2017; local authority services approved fewer than the previous year (186 compared to 229) while independent services approved slightly more (94 compared to 88).

At 31 December 2018, 194 children and young people were approved for adoption and waiting to be matched to an adoptive household – 35% were part of a sibling group and 22% had been waiting for over one year.

In 2018, 286 children and young people were legally adopted, down from 328 in 2017.

Peter Macleod, the chief executive of the Care Inspectorate said: “Our job is to work closely with local authorities and independent organisations who provide adoption and fostering services.

“These services play a vital role in assessing, approving and supporting carers and prospective adoptive parents in caring for some of our most vulnerable children.

“From our inspections we know that the vast majority of these services perform very well. We are also aware that tremendous work has gone on across the sector to innovate and make a real difference to the lives of children.

“By highlighting good practice and identifying areas which can improve, we help ensure that all children can get the best possible start in life.

“We also know that more high-quality fostering and adoption places are needed for vulnerable children. We are also aware that too many children are separated from their siblings when a place is found for them.

“It is important that children in care are supported to form loving relationships as quickly as possible, and an important part of this is almost always maintaining the strong bond between siblings.”

The report is available here: http://bit.ly/FosteringAndAdoption2018-19