Background
Barnardos is currently developing its existing Post Adoption Service so the specialist service can be made available on a national basis. This expansion reflects legislative changes with the Adoption Amendment Act and Tusla requirements to develop a national post adoption service. The Post Adoption Service will respond to the expected increase in the number of children and teenagers who will move from foster care to adoption alongside children placed through intercountry adoption. Barnardos will extend the current Dublin-based service to include additional Post Adoption Centres in Cork and Galway, to provide consultation, assessment and focused interventions to support adopted children and teenagers along with their families.

The key focus of the Post Adoption Service is to support parents in parenting adoptive children and teenagers who have often experienced significant early trauma – helping parents to meet the needs of their children and teenagers at home and in school. Work is typically undertaken during interventions lasting for a period of 8-12 weeks with parents only; children and teenagers only; or parents and children/teenagers together.
Based on the number of service users seen within the three Post Adoption Centres (Dublin, Galway, and Cork) in 2019 so far, it is estimated that a service will be provided to approximately 80 children and 250 parents in the full calendar year. An estimated 200 service users will attend once-only group sessions.

National Evaluation of Post Adoption Service
Barnardos are seeking proposals for an evaluation, based on a mixed methods methodology, which can help to deepen our understanding of the model of work within the national Post Adoption Service, alongside an analysis of its value for participating children and parents. It is important to note that this should not just be an exercise in collecting data, but conducted as a formal mixed methods evaluation with a clear conceptual framework building on the existing research base, and the potential for scholarly output.

The research should also add to our knowledge base by investigating, not just the effectiveness of the service, but whether there have been additional benefits for the Post Adoption Service by having Post Adoption Centres outside of Dublin. As a consequence, this national evaluation will also serve to inform future discussions with partners on further developing the Post Adoption Service. Proposals would be welcomed which clearly outline a research framework to produce an analysis of the programme model, level of need, pre- and post- outcome measures, and qualitative data collected in interviews and focus groups. Please see the attached Invitation to Tender for additional details.

Timeframe
The closing date for the submission of proposals is Wednesday, 31st July 2019 at 5pm. It is expected that the evaluation will commence later in June, with the final report completed by the 31st January, 2020.

Finance
The maximum budget for the study is €17,000 (inclusive of VAT and all other costs).
Any queries on the content of this Invitation may be raised at research@barnardos.ie
Further information regarding the Post Adoption Service is available from Christine Hennessey at christine.hennessey@barnardos.ie