Too Much Information
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By Michelle Thompson in About an Adoption Published: Tuesday, 20 February 07 - 07:36 PM (GMT) |
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Just to explain, my day job is one of a tester for a company which develops software for the childrens services marketplace. And what did I find myself involved with today, as pure coincidence?
A full day's workshop developing the requirements for a fostering and adoption management software system. How ironic. And I discovered far too much than I should have known, perhaps, as someone who has a wish around this area. I discovered that currently some of the forms involved in paper copy at the moment, are up to 50 pages long. I discovered that at any stage during this process that I could be rejected as not going onto the register for adoption. And I discovered that I can appeal this, but only twice.
Although the social agency can take as long as they want in the process, I have 28 days only to appeal a decision. There is an adoption panel also, sort of like a board of governors for a school. There is also some strangeness around foreign adoptions, where an adoptee parent can virtually hire the local authority to provide a service in assessment of the child, and inroads into registering that child via the Department of Education. Yes, it apparently costs money, and Great Britain only allows children coming into the country - none go out. Perhaps that's an indication of just how many children there are, against the amount of potential adoptors over here.
What was good about this knowledge gathering was the emphasis I saw being placed on the local authorities duty in care for the child at all times. It may make becoming an adoptive parent extortionately difficult, but those children are very much looked after within the system. The fostering side of things is interesting also. Our local authorities have such a large task in managing foster care for children locally.
Interesting stuff, if not a little off-putting towards the many forms of assessment I could come a-cropper from in the near future.
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