LA versus VA

[CelestialBee]

I'm just starting out and interested to know how people chose whether to go through their LA or a VA? And if there were any Scotland-specific stories/experiences I'd be keen to hear what path you chose. My LA did express the primary difference was that they have direct relationships with local children but I know eventually all approved adopters go on to Link Maker. The post-adoption services so far seem fairly similar in description.

Advantage LA:

• they have got the children and will try to place with their adopters first
• "easy to place" children probably disproportionately go to LA adopters

Advantage VA:

• they only care about you. They will never try to make a match with you that is not in your and the child's best interest.
• They might offer their own post adoption support, which means you would have the legally guaranteed support from your LA and post adoption support from your VA on top of that. Not every VA offers that though, so you have to check.

It is worth noting that "hard to place" can just mean children of certain ethnicities, children who need to be placed out of area, sibling groups etc., and that "easy to place" does not equal "easy to parent".

A lot of it comes down to chemistry. Which information evening did you find most helpful? Which agency did you feel best about? We waited an extra three months to be able to start with the agency we felt best about and have never regretted that.

While many adopters do go into Linkmaker local authorities are more likely to place with parents they have a relationship with simply because it’s much easier to think about matching when you know an adopters strengths and weaknesses. Also keep in mind Linkmaker tends to hold children who haven’t been matched locally. Sometimes that’s because they need an out of area placement but that can also mean harder to place eg siblings, particular disabilities etc which doesn’t always mean they are harder to parent but you need to be very vigilant in matching and clear about what you can manage.

The assessment process is often quicker with third sector organisations because they don’t get paid until the assessment is done. Local authorities tend to take longer because they don’t have the same resources. In saying that, if there’s any potential complexity in your situation that might take time to resolve, the local authority are generally more able to work through that with you because they aren’t under the same time pressure.

In Scotland post adoption support is a patchwork, easier if you have links to the local authority you’re resident in (eg you’re assessed by your local authority or the child is placed by the local authority you’re resident in), because it’s harder to pass the buck. Third sector organisations are often contracted to provide all post adoption support in a particular area, so it’s not necessarily the case that you can double up on LA/VA support, because it’s all provided by the same people.

In the end unless there are particular complexities I’d go with who you feel best about. If there’s any potential are complexities I’d go with the local authority.

I’ve gone with St Andrews Children’s Society in Scotland and we’ve been to our first prep group sessions last week. I work as a teacher for my LA and they are incompetent on a level I’ve never experienced. They also added further trauma by the bucketload by being 100% unsupportive when I was still undergoing fertility treatment. No one I’ve met while working for them so far (13 years) is someone I’d want making decisions for a vulnerable child. I’m sure that’s a niche experience though and some LAs are great - a friend of mine adopted via our neighbouring one some years ago and had a fab experience.

a belated thank you for this, it was very helpful

a belated thank you, all your posts and comments have been really informative.

thank you for sharing your decision, how did the prep group go? I have started with a LA but it's already been a few weeks and we've not been allocated a social worker. It already feels a little unclear. How long did you wait between your screening and meeting your social worker? We did have a positive introductory session with St Andrews and now wodner whether we should have pursued this.

We went with the local authority in Scotland. I think what swung it for us was that they know the kids and the potential adopters so I felt like the matching process would be a bit more holistic. Also, truthfully, I liked the thought of the local authorit’s matching us with kids, rather than us having to look at different profiles and choose specific kids as I find decision making stressful! With our kids, it was more a case of “why not?” Rather than us specifically choosing them and potentially overthinking our choices, we were matched with one sibling group and we just went with that!

We felt the same, are you now all settled as a family? Or still completing the process?

The prep group was amazing and we’ve been linked with a social worker now to start the next stage in January. So 6 weeks from prep group to starting properly for us, but would have been 4 if not for the time of year.

@CelestialBee We are very settled. We adopted our kids about 12 years ago. We have had some post adoption support on and off which has been fairly helpful. We have unfortunately suffered through the never ending CAHMS waiting list. But I don't think it would've particularly different if we had used a VA as we have friends who have adopted that way and they have a similar experience to us. Knowledge about post adoption support,benefit entitlement and useful resources have been a bit sketchy and I feel that fellow adopters or other parents have the most useful information

Adoption is awesome i was thinking of doing it at one point.