LGBTQ+ adopters nominate four Adopt London social workers for commendation.
This summer (2023) New Family Social asked their LGBTQ+ adopter members which social workers deserved to receive a members’ commendation – to show that they’d gone above and beyond in their work. Four social workers from Adopt London received a members’ commendation.
In Adopt London West, Ramona Proti and Deepti Walia received a members’ commendation. Ramona was described by one members as: “An amazing support to the both of us from initial assessment right through our whole journey to our final adoption certificate. She’s always been an incredible listener and so approachable. Making us feel completely at ease. Ramona hasn’t been afraid to ask the difficult questions and was an incredible advocate for both of us and our boys. We really had faith in Ramona and quickly developed trust for one another.”
One member said of Deepti: “As an LGBTQ+ first time adopter in a same sex couple imagine your dream social worker. As an Asian lesbian, it felt too hard to imagine, daunting in fact. And then, my partner and I met Deepti, from Adopt London West. She immediately built trust and safety early on in our relationship, had empathy, actively listened and used inclusive language. Deepti worked tremendously hard to build a partnership with the team placing our daughter. She worked tirelessly and pushed timelines which avoided a three-month delay by completing the panel paperwork to extremely tight deadlines.”
Debbie Gabriel, Head of Service for Adopt London West said: “At Adopt London we really value the connections we have with Adopters from the LGBTQ+ community. We always feel honoured when prospective adopters make an enquiry to begin their adoption journey with us and we are proud that we receive positive feedback about the welcome and support that adopters receive from all the team. We recognise there is more to do to ensure that LGBTQ+ adopters receive more than just a warm welcome and good support through their assessment journey. We need to continue to reflect and learn to ensure that LGBTQ+ adopters inform and directly influence our practice moving forward. We promote membership of New Family Social (NFS) right from the earliest stages of the adoption enquiry process, and we know how valuable it is for our adopters to receive support and guidance from other LGBTQ+ adoptive parents. Peer support is always credible, relevant and real and we truly value our partnership with NFS and believe that every family starting out on their adoption journey benefits from the support of the LGBTQ+ adoption community. I know that all of the social workers nominated for commendations consider it a privilege to be part of the journey that NFS members take to become a family.”
In Adopt London South, Anna Koukis and Elaine Knight received a members’ commendation each for their work. Anna was described by one NFS member as: “Consistently showing empathy and understanding to the reality and challenges of adoption. Where our boys’ local authority failed to support us, Anna continues to fight for the best interest of our family and is always responsive, clear and human regarding the situation. She’s incredibly kind, genuine and compassionate, always listening and never judging us for how we may feel. We couldn’t celebrate our good fortune enough for finding such a remarkable social worker.’
One member said of Elaine: “She was our fourth social worker on our journey. No matter what we asked or when we contacted her she always replied – even on days off – and chased things up to ensure no further delays happened. We had some issues with our little one’s social worker and she constantly followed up and chased for important information we needed. Elaine always made us feel top priority even though she had a lot of cases she was dealing with.”
Audrey Bouazizi, Head of Service at Adopt London South said: “It is fantastic to hear that four social workers from Adopt London have been nominated for awards by New Family Social. These nominations help us to know that we are getting things right for our families and that is what we strive to do each day. The nominations are a testament to our commitment to working in partnership to achieve great outcomes. We value our opportunities to work with our LGBTQ+ adopters and with New Family Social, and we are committed to our shared learning journey so that all our families can have a positive experience when working with Adopt London.”
For more information visit the New Family Social website.