As we all mourn the end of ITV’s Broadchurch, Sally Donovan asks whether the back story of one character is just the latest example of a fictional stereotype that casts adopted people as damaged, at best, and violent criminals, at worst Fiction devises its villains to shock and unnerve us, to make us question our [...]
Many potential adopters are often put off the idea even before the process begins. Sally Donovan, adoptive mother of two, makes a plea for social workers to be empathetic with those taking the first steps into adoption. You pick up the phone with a stomach full of nerves to make the first tentative enquiry. You [...]
Following the news that the government is to pilot personalised support budgets for adoptive parents, Sally Donovan has a powerful, personal message for the state, and anyone thinking of adopting a child Since beginning the adoption process adecade ago, the government’s plan to give adoptive parents personalised budgets feels like the best chance there has [...]
Yesterday’s announcement that councils could lose their role in the adoption screening process is the government’s most radical adoption proposal so far. (And there have been a few; others include the not-very-popular adoption hotspots map and the equally unpopular adoption score cards that rate local authorities on their adoption performance). It’s not a new threat [...]
Sal Steeple works as a children’s servicesdevelopment manager for Barnardo’s south west. She oversees strategic and operational management for services across 16 rural and urban local authority areas, to recruit and provide fostercarers and adopters. Here she explains a typical day: I get up at 6am and fire up my laptop, hopingto do an hour’s [...]
The Children's Services blog covers the latest news, views, gossip and analysis in children’s social care. It is aimed at professionals working with these children, young people and their families.
It is written by Community Care’s children's beat editor Camilla Pemberton.
Email: Camilla Pemberton
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