Adoption and fostering

Adoption social workers aim to provide an adoptive family for children (most of whom come from troubled backgrounds where it is not safe for them to return), while fostering social workers provide short-term and respite placements for those who are not able to live with their family for short periods. Short-term placements last from one day to two years; respite placements may be ongoing (with a child returning to the same foster carer on several occasions) or one off. In both cases, the child in question will already have his or her own social worker, who will work closely with the adoption or fostering team.

Adoption work comprises two main aspects: family finding for children in need of adoptive parents, and assessing potential adoptive parents. Family finding cases will be referred to the adoption social worker by the child’s own social worker while couples wishing to adopt tend to contact social services themselves. Children are referred to adoption social workers as soon as their own social workers think that adoption is likely to be the best option and that they are unlikely to be able to return to their birth parents. However, family finding cannot begin until the court and adoption panel have given the green light. Once adoption is the officially agreed plan for a child, he or she should be introduced to a new family within a year. Assessing potential adopters can take up to ten visits to their home and it can then be up to two or three years before they adopt.

Fostering work divides into recruitment and assessment, and supervision and support. Recruitment and assessment involves encouraging people to apply to become foster carers (for example by holding information evenings and taking information stalls out into the community) and then assessing them to see if they are suitable (a process that lasts between three and six months). Supervision and support is an ongoing process – social workers are assigned approved foster carers to work with and will then support them with each foster child that they take on, providing advice and guidance via home visits, the telephone and support groups.

Some evening working is required, as some people work during the day. However, it is generally fairly easy to predict when this will be required and it is unusual to work beyond about 8.00 pm. A lot of time will be spent out of the office, travelling to meet different couples and families in their homes. When trying to find adoptive parents for a child, this can mean journeying around the country.

Specialist skills required

• Good analytical and writing skills.
• A sound understanding of attachment theory and the factors that contribute to a child’s sense of identity.
• Resilience, energy and determination.
• Good listening skills, diplomacy and a non-judgemental
  attitude.
• Flexibility and the ability to deal with change.
   

Starting out

It is not always possible to enter this area straight from university, as some teams like their social workers to have experience of children and families work first. New team members will shadow an experienced social worker before taking on cases of their own. In adoption work you are likely to get involved in family finding work first; in fostering teams you may initially be largely involved in supervision and support.

In brief

• Best bits 
  Ensuring that children are cared for and safe.
• Worst bits
  Paperwork
  Situations where you can’t find the right family for a child.
• Don’t bother if...
  ...you can’t be flexible in your way of working and thinking, and are not absolutely child focused.