MORE carers are needed to look after babies and children.

Adoption Tees Valley, which manages adoptions on behalf of councils in Teesside and Darlington, have made a plea for people to come forward to help with children’s first placements, while assessments are still being made.

People are needed to help with what are known as early permanence placements.

The placements are where children, often young babies are placed in foster care, with carers may go on to adopt them later if the courts decide they cannot be cared for permanently by their birth family.

The benefit of early permanence placements is that they minimise disruption to children's lives and give them a chance to bond earlier with people who may go on to adopt them.

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Vicky Davidson Boyd, service manager for Adoption Tees Valley, said “Children who are in the care system can experience a number of moves from birth family to care and also within foster care while the courts reach a decision about who will care for them in the long term.

“Traditional adoptions mean the child is only placed with the adoptive parents, from foster care, after the courts determine that adoption is the legally agreed plan for the child, and this can take several months.

“Research has shown that this level of disruption has a negative impact on a child's mental health and development. Early permanence placements are child centred, they reduce the need for moves in care and give children stability at a time when development is crucial.”

Full training is provided by Adoption Tees Valley before any children are placed and carers receive a fostering allowance during the fostering period

In the last year there have been 13 early permanence placements made for children in the Teesside area.

Adopters Pete and Chris Kirby-Bowstead adopted their son Matthew and then went on to adopt their daughter and Matthew’s biological sister Amber, who came to them through an early permanence arrangement.

The Northern Echo:

Pete said: “When our adoptive son was five, we received a phone call - he had a biological sister on the way. We were asked if we would consider caring for her on a ‘fostering for adoption’ basis, and we didn’t have to think twice about our response. The opportunity to keep brother and sister together - even if just in those formative first stages - with the potential for early permanence was a no-brainer for us.

“We did of course have to be realistic and continually bear in mind the different potential outcomes; there was no guarantee that this would be anything more than a foster placement, and the little girl could be returned to her birth family if that was judged to be in her best interests.

“But even so, giving her that best possible start to life and allowing brother and sister the proper opportunity to know each other was something we were resolute to provide.”

For more information about early permanence in the Tees Valley, contact Adoption Tees Valley on 01642 526 400 or email info@adoptionteesvalley.org.uk. 

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