Industry News: Faculty hosts celebratory launch of Scottish adoption charity

​The Faculty of Advocates will be a proud host of the celebratory launch of a Scottish group which has emerged from the wreckage of a GB adoption charity to continue vital work on behalf of children in need.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) had been renowned for promoting good practice in adoption and fostering, but it collapsed amid financial pressures and went into administration in the summer of last year.

Former staff of the BAAF in Scotland were determined that the expertise which had been relied on so heavily by professionals and local authorities should not be lost, and with Scottish government help, a new charity, the Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland (AFA Scotland), was established.

The Advocates’ Family Law Association (AFLA) has been a keen supporter of the new body, and will help it mark its first anniversary at the celebratory launch in the Faculty’s Mackenzie Building on Thursday, 15, September, when the guests will include the childcare minister, Mark McDonald MSP.

Janys Scott QC, chair of AFLA and chair of the board of trustees of AFA Scotland, said the event would hear about the history of AFA Scotland, its current developments and future plans.

“AFA Scotland is a vital part of provision for the most needy children and families in Scotland.  The staff of AFA Scotland are to be congratulated for their determination to maintain their services to adoption and fostering when their former employer BAAF went into administration,” added Ms Scott.
“One of the most important aspects of their work has been to make sure that social workers, lawyers and health professionals work together in sustaining the quality of care for children.  It would have been a disaster to lose this service.  It is a triumph for children and families that it has been preserved and relaunched as AFA Scotland.

Source:
http://www.scottishlegal.com

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