Waves Of Change
PATCH Wales
A softer place for adoptive families in Wales to find support, understand the system, and feel less alone.
Wales has its own legislation, policies, adoption services and family justice arrangements. PATCH Wales brings Welsh-specific information together in one place for adopted people, adoptive families, kinship carers and professionals.
Why this page matters
Adoptive families in Wales often have to navigate adoption support, children’s services, education, health, family courts and safeguarding systems at the same time.
Families should not have to search alone
When a family is under pressure, it can be hard to know which organisation does what, which law applies, and where to ask for help.
PATCH Wales is designed to make that easier by explaining key Welsh systems in plain English.
Adoption support is lifelong
Adoption does not end when an Adoption Order is granted. Many adopted children and young people continue to need support with trauma, attachment, identity, contact, education, mental health and relationships.
Families may need support at different stages — early childhood, adolescence, transition into adulthood, or during crisis.
How adoption services are organised in Wales
Adoption in Wales is led nationally, delivered regionally, and supported locally.
Welsh Government
↓
National Adoption Service for Wales
↓
Regional Adoption Collaboratives
↓
Local Authorities and Partner Agencies
↓
Adopted People, Families and Birth Relatives
Find your local adoption service
Wales has regional adoption services working with local authorities and partner agencies.
North Wales
North Wales Adoption Service
Covering Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham.
Mid and West Wales
Adoption Mid and West Wales
Covering Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.
Western Bay
Western Bay Adoption Service
Covering Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea.
Vale, Valleys and Cardiff
Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption
Covering Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil.
South East Wales
South East Wales Adoption Service
Covering Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen.
National
National Adoption Service for Wales
The National Adoption Service for Wales supports best practice in adoption across Wales and works with regional services to improve consistency for children and families.
Email: contact@adoptcymru.com
Understanding the Welsh system
Wales has its own legal framework for children’s social care. This means some familiar terms from England do not apply in the same way in Wales.
Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
This is the main legislation for social care in Wales. It sets out how children, adults and carers should be assessed and supported.
The Act places emphasis on well-being, prevention, voice, control, partnership and earlier support.
Codes of Practice
The guidance issued with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 is known as Codes of Practice.
These Codes include a mixture of statutory and non-statutory guidance and help explain how the law should be applied in practice.
Eligibility criteria
Eligibility criteria were introduced by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
If a child, adult or carer has been assessed as needing care and support, they should be offered services if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Well-being
Welsh law often uses the word well-being. This is broader than simply being safe.
Well-being can include physical health, emotional health, protection from abuse, education, relationships, identity, social development, control over daily life and future independence.
Section 76 accommodation
Section 76 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 places a legal duty on local authorities in Wales to provide accommodation for children and young people in certain circumstances.
In England, many families will have heard of Section 20 of the Children Act 1989. In Wales, Section 20 no longer applies in the same way. From April 2016, sections 20–30 of the Children Act were replaced in Wales by Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
Section 76 is usually a voluntary arrangement. This means it is an agreement between the local authority and the person or people who hold parental responsibility.
Parents usually retain their legal rights and responsibilities and can withdraw consent and ask for the child to return home, unless another legal order prevents this.
Section 76 accommodation should also be considered where a 16 or 17-year-old presents as homeless.
Family courts and children’s voices
Family court processes can be frightening and confusing. In Wales, several organisations may be involved in helping the court understand the child’s welfare, safety and views.
Cafcass Cymru
Cafcass Cymru is part of the Welsh Government. It works with children and families involved in family court cases.
Its role is to help the court understand what is happening for the child and what arrangements may best protect the child’s welfare.
Family Court
The Family Court deals with cases involving children and families, including care proceedings, placement orders, adoption applications and contact arrangements.
High Court judges can sit in the Family Court and in the Family Division of the High Court. They deal with the most complex cases relating to children and families.
Child-focused courts
Wales has been one of the first places to adopt a child-focused court model.
This approach brings together courts, Cafcass Cymru, local authorities and other agencies to focus on children’s safety, welfare and participation.
Contact in public law
Contact means ongoing access or communication between a child and a parent or wider family member after separation.
If a child is looked after, contact in public law may come under Section 34 of the Children Act 1989 and Section 96 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
Safeguarding and child protection in Wales
Wales has national child protection procedures and local safeguarding arrangements that guide how agencies work together to protect children.
All Wales Child Protection Procedures
These are the child protection procedures used by safeguarding boards across Wales.
They are designed to help professionals respond consistently when there are concerns about a child’s safety or welfare.
Local Safeguarding Children Boards
Local Safeguarding Children Boards coordinate what is done by local agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
Their role is to help local authorities and partner organisations work together where children may be at risk.
Children and Young People Framework for Partnership
This Welsh Government guidance sets expectations for statutory service providers and their partners when planning services for children and young people.
Local partnerships are expected to set out how children’s well-being will be improved across different parts of their lives.
Secure accommodation
Secure accommodation refers to a local authority’s power to restrict the liberty of a child.
In Wales, this comes under Section 119 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
Common Welsh terms explained
Some words used in adoption, social care and family court processes can feel confusing. These plain-English explanations are here to help families understand the language being used.
Looked After Child
A looked after child is a child or young person being cared for by the local authority.
This legal status creates specific rights for the child and specific duties and powers for the local authority.
Section 76
Section 76 is the Welsh legal route for local authority accommodation of children and young people.
It is often voluntary and usually requires agreement from someone with parental responsibility.
Contact
Contact means arrangements for a child to have ongoing communication or time with parents, siblings or wider family members.
Contact arrangements can be emotional and complex, particularly where children have experienced trauma, separation or unsafe relationships.
Well-being
Well-being is a broad legal idea in Wales. It includes more than safety. It includes the child’s emotional, physical, social, educational and developmental needs.
Eligibility criteria
These are the criteria used to decide whether a person’s assessed needs meet the threshold for care and support services.
Codes of Practice
These explain how the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act should be put into practice.
Secure accommodation
Secure accommodation is where a child’s liberty may be restricted under legal powers because of serious concerns about safety or risk.
Child-focused courts
A model designed to keep the child’s safety, welfare, participation and voice central within family justice processes.
Places to turn in Wales
Trusted organisations, official sources and research for families, adopted people, carers and professionals.
National Adoption Service for Wales
National leadership for adoption services across Wales.
Adoption UK Cymru
Support, connection, advocacy, training and services for adoptive families and adopted people in Wales.
AFKA Cymru
Advice, training and consultancy around fostering, kinship and adoption practice in Wales.
Cafcass Cymru
Child-focused advice and support for children involved in family court proceedings in Wales.
Children’s Commissioner for Wales
Independent champion for children’s rights in Wales.
Commissioner: Rocio Cifuentes
Email: post@childcomwales.org.uk
Welsh Government guidance
Official Welsh Government guidance and Codes of Practice for the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
Wales Adoption Cohort Study
A major multi-year research project led by Cardiff University in collaboration with the National Adoption Service for Wales.
The study tracks and seeks to improve early adoption placement success.
Project Lead: Katherine Shelton
Email: adoption@cardiff.ac.uk
When you may need specialist advice
Members of the PATCH community have suggested the following solicitors and firms for families looking for legal advice around children’s law, adoption, education or public law matters.
HCB Solicitors
Cardiff, Bristol and Swansea.
Tel: 02920 291 704
Nicol Denvir Purnell
William Tucker.
Tel: 029 2079 6311
Email: info@ndplegal.com
Sinclairs Law
Michael Charles.
Cardiff, London and Penarth.
Email: enquiries@sinclairslaw.co.uk
Hopkins Law
Cardiff.
Email: headoffice@hopkinslawltd.com
These details are shared from PATCH community recommendations and should not be treated as formal endorsements. Families should make their own enquiries and choose advice based on their individual circumstances.