Regional Adoption Agency

All policies and guidance related to adoption of children within the UK

All policies and guidance related to other forms of legal permanence for children within the UK, for example, SGOs

All of this information is available online at: https://www.adoptsouthwest.org.uk/ and https://devonchildcare.proceduresonline.com/index.html

Which agencies or organisations are a part of your regional adoption agency (RAA)?

Devon County Council, Somerset County Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council

When was your regional adoption agency formed or when is it expected to be formed?

1st October 2018

What is your RAA called?

Adopt South West

How are your services and responsibilities currently divided amongst the RAA?

There is an interagency agreement between all four local authorities. The key principles are that the Local Authority maintains responsibility for the child and all of the decision making therein, whilst the RAA is responsible for the adopters.

Is your RAA also including responsibility for SGOs and what is the rationale behind this?

The responsibility for children with special guardianship orders is held by each local authority. The RAA is responsible for adoption services

What targets has your RAA set?

To recruit a sufficiency of adopters, to place children promptly and to offer a broad range of strong adoption support services