Adoptive Parents in Berkshire Advocate for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support

Increased requests have emerged for greater post-adoption assistance for parents residing in Berkshire. Zobia Kalim, who adopted her daughter 16 years prior, expressed feeling “abandoned” in the aftermath. Consequently, she began collaborating with Parenting Special Children, a charity based in Berkshire, to offer aid to other adoptive parents. Adopt Thames Valley, a regional adoption agency, stated it urges parents encountering challenges to reach out, enabling the agency to enhance its provided assistance. Ms Kalim remarked, “Families often tells us we are plugging the gap in the statutory services.” Zoe, another individual from Berkshire, mentioned adopting her daughter five years ago when the child was two-and-a-half years old. She stated, “The assistance faded away almost instantaneously as soon as we signed on the dotted line.” Initially, Zoe did not perceive the absence of support, but she became desperate for assistance when her daughter began experiencing difficulties in pre-school. She commented, “None of our friends […] and pre-school parents have adopted so we were really feeling isolated when it came to some of her needs.” Ms Kalim further noted that an adoption group she discovered by chance had “filled in a lot of the gaps” and “been such a relief.” Ms Kalim indicated that problems concerning her daughter Mariam, currently 18, emerged during her adolescent years. She asserted, “For the last five to six years we have had severe challenges in our adoption, which could have been prevented with support.” She continued, “If somebody offered us support then we would have taken it and I don’t think things would have been as bad as they have been over the last few years.” Rani, another parent who requested anonymity, reported a similar experience. She adopted her child in 2016 and stated that after the placement was made official, she was “sort of left to get on with it.” She suggested, “There is no interaction once the child is done and dusted and the child is legally yours – I think there should be a yearly promoter check to see how things are going.” Adoption UK’s findings indicated an unprecedented number of families reaching a crisis point, attributed to insufficient support. Alison Woodhead, representing the charity, described the situation as a “post code lottery,” where certain regions of the country offer “excellent support” while others are deficient. She emphasized, “Support shouldn’t happen by accident.” Adding, “That is a statutory requirement that adoption agencies provide.” She concluded, “It is very basic stuff – connection with other adopters, that’s the minimum that should be provided.” A spokesperson for Adopt Thames Valley commented that “after adopting a child many families want to be able to live their daily lives free from intervention or scrutiny of professionals.” However, they noted that parents and children are provided with various forms of support, such as monthly support groups for parents, dedicated groups for children, and an ongoing schedule of training and workshops for parents. They stated, “Contacting all families on a bi-weekly or even monthly basis is not something that would be wanted by all adoptive families.” The spokesperson further mentioned that adoptive support is also accessible to parents via a helpdesk. For updates, BBC Berkshire can be followed on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or Instagram. This content is copyrighted by the BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding the BBC’s policy on external linking is available.