Projects

Opening Doors Disability project

On this page:

> Project aim
> Current work
> Training courses
> Work in 2003-2007
> Ways you can help us
> Project team
> Funding
> Advice and information
> How to contact the Opening Doors Team

Project aim

The aim of the Opening Doors disability project is to develop new and more effective ways for agencies to find permanent families for disabled children. We do this through consulting professionals about their practice, reviewing emerging research and developing and disseminating new ideas.

Current work

• Adoption parties (known in the UK as Activity Days)
  Can we do them here?
  In BAAF we are convinced that only by families meeting children and responding to them directly, will some children find a family. Video profiling events are taking off around the country – now we want to see if, in a relaxed and happy setting, we can actually introduce a group of prospective carers to a group of children. No amount of third-party description or even videos can really convey the whole child – it is meeting the child that counts.
  
  Both ‘activity days’ and adoption parties were successful in the UK on a small scale in the 1980s (see Argent & Kerrane 1997 Taking Extra Care). They are common practice in over thirty states in the U.S.
  
  We know that agencies in the UK are wary of this innovation and need to be encouraged to debate their fears and hopes. We have also learned from both UK and American experience that preparation and support for all parties is vital to their success.
  
  We now want to explore this development with agencies – to find out what practitioners think might work and what are the barriers. To this end we are holding a series of regional half–day meetings in April, May and June 2008. We hope that you will come – we need your views!



• Profiling events
  Video profiling events are becoming common as an additional family finding tool. Often several agencies have joined together. The project consultant is keen to be invited to more of these in order to build up a national picture of what agencies believe works best. Any feedback about outcomes would be extremely useful.
  
  Exchange days are also common now.
  Outcomes from these are difficult to gauge but any anecdotal evidence would be helpful. Please contact us.



• In My Shoes
  In My Shoes (IMS) is an interactive computer programme, designed for direct work with children and vulnerable adults (see review in Adoption & Fostering Vol 30:1 (Spring 2006). IMS is available via a two–day training course that leads to registration as an approved user. For information about training see www.inmyshoes.org.uk or contact liza.miller@childandfamilytraining.org.uk
  
  In partnership with several northern authorities, the Opening Doors project is exploring the use of IMS with disabled looked after children to see how it could be developed to aid child assessment, profiling and family placement. During the pilot stage we received important feedback from social workers who learned new things while observing the IMS psychologist using the programme with their child.



• Romanian adoption project
  Last summer, the project consultant and a BAAF colleague worked as part of an international team to strengthen the development of domestic adoption in Romania. This followed the moratorium on intercountry adoption, and the introduction in 2005 of a new Romanian adoption law. Romania has serious resource problems, and fully implementing the new law is not easy. There is also major concern for disabled and Roma children. The project staff worked alongside the Romanian Office for Adoption in Bucharest to consult practitioners and to devise and deliver a series of five-day training programmes across the country. A good practice guide and training manual were written for future use. For the UK, the journey from old style adoption practice has taken forty years. The BAAF staff hope that this challenging project will have helped Romania to accomplish their transition far sooner.



• Ten Top Tips for Finding Families
  The project consultant has just written the third in the BAAF series Ten Top Tips. Readers will find ideas about recruiting new carers, preparing and assessing applicants, producing high quality material about children and featuring them in a variety of ways. This little book also looks at new methods of family finding, including exchange days and video profiling events. Each chapter contains a summary of the tips for easy reference. Issues relevant to disabled children and disabled carers are addressed throughout. For a more in-depth look at placing disabled children, see Every Child is Special, published in 2006.

• Identifying links
  We are developing our work on linking children with families through training individual agencies and consortia on the development of video profiling events and profile training. The exciting service SeeMeFilms is now launched along with Be My Parent Online. We believe that these powerful little films offer children the best possible chance of finding a family.



• Research
  The project consultant is a member of the advisory group for the research study 'Linking and Matching in Adoption' commissioned by the DfES. It is hoped that this will make an important contribution to understanding which factors contribute to making a good match between prospective adopters and children – and which processes of linking appear the most effective.
  
  See also research summary: Disabled children who are looked after: Local Authority survey 1999. Research conducted by Justin Simon with Cherilyn Dance, summarised by Jennifer Cousins, Project Consultant, BAAF.
  
  
• Malta (IFCO) conference
  The project consultant attended the 2007 International Foster Care Organisation training conference in Malta. She gave a presentation “Helping the Magic to Happen: profiling children to attract a potential family” during which she showed video clips of children and did a live demonstration of In My Shoes to show the importance of involving the child.

Training courses

Planning for Disabled Children
This course is of relevance to all child care social workers and family–finders, not only those ‘officially’ working in disability.

The course explores the social model of disability; examines how children move along the various pathways towards permanence, and how new methods of family finding will improve the life-chances for all ‘children who wait’. It pays especial attention to improving children’s profiles so that more families come forward.

Making the Match
This is a training course available for agencies and consortia to book at any time and venue to suit themselves. Open pdf file for further information. It is run by Jennifer Cousins, Project Consultant, BAAF and Sue Lowe of Northamptonshire with the aim of introducing agencies to the child–led model of family finding (including video profiling events and activity days).

Helping the Magic to Happen
A one–day course on featuring children and writing profiles. This course is designed for family finders, children’s social workers, foster carers and publicity / marketing staff in response to interest expressed in video profiling events and exchange days.

Disability and Trauma
A three–day course designed for all children’s workers and foster carers.

All of the above courses can be requested through margaret.richardson@baaf.org.uk

Work in 2003–2007

For an update on work in the last three years please download the pdf.

Ways you can help us

• Tell us about your projects so we can pass on ‘what works’
  Opening Doors has relied heavily upon learning from individual professionals and agencies across the UK. Our ‘added value’ is that BAAF's national profile and networking capacity enables us to promote and disseminate the innovations we learn about. At the moment we are particularly keen to hear about video profiling events, so if your agency runs these we would really like to hear from you.



• The Opening Doors Network
  Currently on our network we have around 150 professionals working in child–disability / family–placement with whom we can exchange information and consult on new ideas. We find this invaluable, and we can also put people in touch with each other if necessary. If you wish to join us, please contact Margaret Richardson, the project administrator.

Project team

• Jennifer Cousins - Project Consultant
  who has extensive practice experience in family placement, children's disability and, for many years, as a trainer and consultant with BAAF's mainstream work. Jennifer is based at BAAF's Midlands office in Birmingham
• Margaret Richardson - Project Administrator
• Dr John Simmonds - Project Manager and also Director of Policy, Research and Development at BAAF headquarters.

Funding

Opening Doors is part–way through its second term of three years and is generously funded by the October Club.

Advice and information

BAAF offers a comprehensive advice and information service to its members and to the public.
Regional and Country contact numbers are:

• Central & Northern England on 0870 241 0663
• Southern England on 020 7421 2670
• Scotland on 0131 220 4749
• Wales on 0292 076 1155
• Northern Ireland on (028) 9031 5494

If the enquiry is related to a complex disability issue Jennifer Cousins, Project Consultant may be able to help.

How to contact the Opening Doors Team

• Email Jennifer Cousins, Opening Doors Disability Consultant: jennifer.cousins@baaf.org.uk
• Margaret Richardson, Project Administrator, works for the project on Tuesdays 9.00 - 4.00 and Wednesdays 9.00 - 1.00. Her email is margaret.richardson@baaf.org.uk
• Telephone: 0121 753 7793
• BAAF Midlands, Dolphin House,
  54 Coventry Road,
  Birmingham
  B10 0RX
• Fax: 0121 753 7799