More social workers using the web in adoption services

Social workers are increasingly using the web to place children with adopters and foster carers.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering’s Be My Parent service has seen a 37% increase in the number of children profiled online in the past 12 months and a doubling in the number of videos of children on the website. Be My Parent is a magazine and web page that profiles children waiting for adoption when local attempts to place them have failed.

David Holmes, BAAF’s chief executive, believes the rise is due to a shift in attitude among social workers towards digital media.

“Where once it was viewed with suspicion and distrust, now they are realising that it is a powerful resource in family finding,” he said.

“The internet has also opened the doors to using video to find families for children, which has been hugely successful. A three- or four-minute video can show the essence of a child. Our research shows that children who have videos made for them have an increase in enquiries from prospective adopters.”

Holmes added that 83% of families in BAAF’s most recent survey reported videos were “very helpful”, and 96% of social workers thought them valuable.

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