How we use your personal information for Adoption Services purposes
The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them. Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and use personal information about individuals we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with.
We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for Adoption Services purposes. This information should be read in conjunction with the Council’s corporate privacy notice
1. Who we are, what we do.
Adoption services in RCT are primarily delivered, on behalf of the Council, by the Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Service. This service provides for the recruitment and assessment of prospective adopters, family finding and matching for children with adopters. It also delivers post adoption support for adoptive children and families which includes facilitating indirect contact for children and birth families via the letter box scheme.
In some circumstances we provide support, to children and families post adoption this can include practical or emotional wellbeing assistance and adoption allowances; these services are delivered and reviewed through Children’s Services.
Alongside this, social work teams within Children’s Services have responsibility for facilitating legal proceedings regarding an adoption case and supporting the successful matching and placement of a child with an adoptive family.
2. What and whose personal information we hold?
Within adoption services we hold information on all the people involved, from receiving an application through to placing a child with a family. This will include information on prospective adopters, birth families and the child.
The birth family
- Name, date of birth, address, contact details of parents, siblings, grandparents etc.
- Health information
- Information on family members for life journey purposes.
- Education and employment information
The adoptive parents
- Names, date of birth, address, contact details
- Health information
- Education and employment information
- Information on family and friends, who provide references to the assessment process.
You – the child
- Your name, date of birth, address
- Health and education information
3. Where does the service get my information from?
Birth parents
We understand that there are a number of reasons why you may not be able to look after your child/children. If a plan of adoption is being considered then this will be because the assessments that have been completed by Children’s Services throughout their involvement with you and your family do not recommend that your child/children should live with you or a family member. Examples of assessments include; parenting assessments, court ordered assessments such as drug and alcohol testing, psychological assessments and kinship care assessments.
We will use your information to support your child/children through the adoption process and ensure they maintain knowledge about their birth family heritage and culture. We will also work with you to maintain a level of contact once they have been placed with adoptive parents
Adoptive parents - at the time of your application
We will receive your information from the adoption agency who approved you as prospective adoptive parents e.g. Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Service. We will use your information to match you with a child/ children to become adoptive parents.
You – the child
We will get your information from your parents, birth family members, foster carers and social workers. We may also get information from other people such as, Doctors, health visitors, teachers and anyone else who is involved in your care or the adoption process. If you are of an age where you can provide us with information then we will get this directly from you.
4. What will we do with your personal information?
Birth parents
When your involvement with Children’s Services starts the information, you provide will be used to support your child/children through the adoption process and ensure they maintain knowledge about their birth family heritage and culture. We will also work with you to maintain a level of contact with your child/children once they have been placed with adoptive parents
Adoptive parents – at the time of your application
We will use your information to make a decision about whether you are a suitable match for a child/children. If this match is approved and a child/children are placed with you as adoptive parents we will then follow the adoption legislation, regulations and processes until an adoption order is granted by the courts and the case is closed by Children’s Services
You – the child
We will use your information to match you with adoptive parents. Your information will also be used to provide you with a life journey book and a later in life letter which provides you with information about your biological parents and family and the reasons why you were not able to live with them.
5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?
Data Protection Law says that we are allowed to use and share personal information only where we have proper and lawful reasons for doing so.
Our lawful basis for processing personal information is to comply with our legal obligations under the following pieces of legislation;
- The Adoption and Children Act 2002
- The Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005
- The Adoption Support Services (Local Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2005
- Children Act 1989
- Children Act 2004
- Social Services & Well- being (Wales) Act 2014
- Wales Safeguarding Procedures
6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?
Yes, and in order to provide adoption services we work very closely with a number of organisations, these include (but not limited to).
The Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Service,
Health services such as GP’s, Health Visitors, Hospitals including Paediatricians/Specialists
Education, such as Schools, the Councils Education department
Any specialist services deemed necessary as part of the Adoption process.
7. How long will my information be kept?
This will depend on the service we provide for you. For example;
Birth parents
We will keep your records for 100 years.
Adoptive parents
We will keep your records for 100 years.
You – the child
We will keep your records for 100 years.
8. Your information, your rights
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you important rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you.
Click here for further information on your information rights and how to exercise them
9. Contact us
If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the service using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways:
By email: AdoptionSupportService@rctcbc.gov.uk
By telephone: (01443) 425006
In writing: Adoption Support Service, Ty Trevithick, Abercynon, Mountain Ash, CF45 4UQ