Blended Families: Adoption from the Birth Child’s Perspective

Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers), children’s social care services, children and family social workers, foster carers, kinship carers, designated teachers, and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

Families who parent birth and adopted children can face particular challenges in seeking to balance the needs of the children. The views and feelings of birth child within these blended families is rarely heard and yet if an adoptive placement is to be successful it is key that professionals consider all members of the family and assist adoptive parents in considering some of the adjustments that need to be made.

“I particularly enjoyed hearing from the trainer’s daughter about how having an adopted sister affected their lives, and how these experiences shaped the family dynamics. I also enjoyed the breakout room discussions, which provided me with a vast array of ideas that I can implement in future with my adopted families, particularly during prospective adopter assessments, as well as post-adoption support.” – Attendee, 2022

You will also have an opportunity to identify the situations you find most challenging and work in smaller groups to consider various solutions. You will be able to network with practitioners from other agencies, share best practice and glean new ideas.

“Jan was great! Very engaging and good balance of research and practice. I also really valued the number of attendees who also shared their personal experience and this must have been enabled by the tone set by Jan and the good pace of the session.”
– Attendee, 2022

Learning outcomes

• Sibling relationships and how they differ in blended families
• Considering the birth child’s perspective
• Key messages from research to inform practice
• The tools that a practitioner can use in assessment

About the trainer

Jan Way MBE

Jan has been a social worker since 1975, working in a range of settings including hospitals, local authorities, and adoption agencies. For the last 30 years she has worked in the adoption field, specialising in intercountry adoption, and working as a senior executive for a national adoption agency and charity. In 2019 she was awarded an MBE for her work in intercountry adoption. She now acts as a practice advisor and research lead for the agency. Jan is also an adopted person and an adoptive mother, having adopted a daughter from South America. In addition to her daughter, who is now 33, she has two grown up birth daughters.

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accepts online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.