A NEW organisation to help children and young people find adoptive and foster families has been created, Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell announced yesterday.
The Minister confirmed that £75,000 funding has been invested to allow the Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland (AFAS) to take on vital support services following the closure of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF).
AFAS will be responsible for training, consultancy and expert advice to professionals – areas that BAAF Scotland had led on in the past. BAAF Scotland staff will transfer to the new organisation.
This follows the appointment of St Andrew’s Children’s Society to run Scotland’s Adoption Register in July.
Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People, said: “We know that having a secure, stable and supportive home is vital to a child’s well-being. When children are no longer able to live at home it is vital that there are effective services in place with knowledgeable, confident professionals who can support children into appropriate, alternative care placements.
“The importance of maintaining the services that match and keeps them together is clear. It impacts the young person’s mental and physical health, improves their performance in school and sets them on the road to a successful and fulfilling life and this must be a priority for us all.”
