Launch coincides with Adoption Week

Care group Kibble is expanding its adoption service.

Kibble Adoption will build on its existing care services, and follows an early intervention approach which is based on a therapeutic, trauma-informed model.

The service is recruiting potential adopters for babies and children who are assessed as requiring forever families. 

The announcement comes as Adoption Week Scotland commences this week (25 November) which aims to highlight the pressing need for adoptive families in Scotland for children where adoption has been agreed.  

Many of the children being placed in adoption through the Kibble service will have experienced significant trauma and abuse, and are often regarded in the adoption sector as ‘harder to place’ due to their age, additional support needs or where they are part of a large sibling group.  

Significant delays in permanency plans have resulted in too many children remaining ‘stuck’ within the care system in care placements that do not meet their long-term needs. Some of this is the lingering effect from Covid-19, but much is a direct result of the current financial pressures and resource constraints on local authority social work teams, where many children are waiting longer than two years for decisions to be made. 

As a result, many local authorities are unable to cope with the added demand of assessing and approving adopters, and many prospective adopters experience delays of up to 18 months - far above the recommended six-month timeframe. 

Kibble Adoption aims to work in partnership with local authorities to bridge the current gaps in service, and to co-design and co-develop services that promote life-long support to all. Working alongside and listening to people with lived experience is a key part of the new service and a hopeful step forward in reducing the postcode lottery that currently exists in adoption services and supports in Scotland. 

Paula Harkins, manager of Adoption Services at Kibble, highlighted the significance of this new service: “This launch is an incredibly important step in expanding Kibble’s commitment to children and young people across Scotland. 

“Our vision is to set a high standard of practice within the sector, ensuring that every step of the adoption process is thoughtfully tailored to the needs of the child and the family. At its core, this service is about giving young people the chance to find their forever family, to build lifelong bonds, and to thrive in a stable and loving environment with the necessary therapeutic support available, if and when required. 

“It is every child’s right to have a safe, secure and loving home in which to grow up. For some children, this is not possible within their birth family and permanence decisions have to be made.

“Sadly, the delays in reaching this decision can lead to children experiencing long periods of uncertainty, and many children experience multiple homes and moves preventing the emotional, physical and legal permanence they have a right to.

“These delays can mean poorer chances for children with the potential to seriously impact on the rest of their lives.  

“It is our aim to reduce the strain on local authorities to allow them to focus on children’s plans, while recruiting the ‘right adopters’ for the children who are currently waiting in Scotland.  

“We have a long way to go if we are to get it right for children in Scotland who need forever families. Modernising adoption is long overdue and we must ensure that we are respectful of the unique dual identity that an adopted child has, as well as the need for ongoing therapeutic services throughout their lives – a right that all children and families who are affected by adoption now have since the 2007 Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act.” 

Jim Gillespie, Kibble CEO, emphasised how the newly formed adoption service is a natural progression of the established services available to young people through Kibble.  

He said: “The launch of our Adoption Service complements our existing residential, fostering and community-based programmes, providing a full spectrum of care options for young people in Scotland. This expansion reinforces Kibble’s long-standing commitment to early intervention and support, ensuring we can meet each young person’s unique needs and offer them the best possible chance at a bright, stable future.”  

Kibble is already recognised as a leading provider of residential care, secure-care accommodation and education within the sector, and firmly believes that with the correct interventions, at an early stage, each and every child has the potential to thrive. The adoption service is a natural progression from Kibble’s successful residential care and fostering services already in place to support young people around Scotland, and more broadly in the UK.  

For those considering adoption, Kibble’s new service provides full support from initial enquiries to post-adoption care, enabling families to provide loving homes for Scotland’s children in need of a family to belong. With its extensive experience in trauma-informed care and early intervention, Kibble is uniquely positioned to support adoptive families and children, creating positive, lifelong outcomes. 

Gillespie added: “We are strengthening our existing services by offering adoption as an option for suitable children and for adopters who are either brand new to the process or experienced. Our range of supportive services will be available to everyone accessing adoption and will include training, dedicated 24/7 support and access to mentors and experienced adopters who are further down the line in their adoptive journey.  

“This is an important step in our mission to build a foundation that will support young people and families across Scotland for years to come.”