Wales’ new adoption service appoint central team

The National Adoption Service in Wales has appointed Suzanne Griffiths as Director of Operations, Wendy Carroll as Business and Performance Manager, Martina McCrossan as Policy and Practice Officer and Bethan Thomas as Administrative Assistant.

Launched in November 2014, the National Adoption Service aims to improve services for all those affected by adoption and speed up the adoption process in Wales.

The new service is being led and delivered by local government, working closely with voluntary sector partners and is a key part of the Welsh Government¹s plans for transforming the way social services are delivered in Wales.

Suzanne Griffiths, who has over 25 years’ experience in social work, will be responsible for leading and developing adoption services across Wales, to achieve consistently responsive services and to ensure improvements are made.

Suzanne said: “It is an honour to be appointed as the service¹s Director of Operations. Now the central team is in place, we can really drive forward positive change across the sector in Wales. Bringing together adoption services across Wales on a collaborative basis will deliver more consistent and improved adoption services for children, prospective and approved adopters as well as other adults and children affected by adoption.”

Prior to this role, Suzanne was Director of Social Services for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and previously held the position of Head of Children¹s Services for the council.

Suzanne has a degree and masters qualification in Social Administration and Public Services Management, and has managed adoption services in three Welsh local authorities over the course of her career.

Wendy Carroll has over 30 years¹ experience providing business support to the social care sector. Her role will be to lead the implementation and co-ordination of the national performance framework across Wales, which will monitor adoption across local authority services and voluntary agencies.

Martina McCrossan, the service¹s new Policy and Practice Officer, previously held the role of Adoption Team Manager at Cardiff Adoption Team. Martina has over twelve years¹ experience in adoption services and qualified as a social worker in 1997. Her new role will be to develop common policies throughout Wales to streamline adoption services across regions.

Bethan is an experienced administrator, having worked in the education sector. Her role will be to provide a sound support system for the team and the national service.

Suzanne added: “We are thrilled to have appointed Wendy, Martina and Bethan, who together bring with them over 50 years of relevant experience. Our focus as a team is on significantly improving the adoption process for all those who use the service.”