National Minimum Standards for Adoption Support Agencies

1.	Safeguarding and promoting welfare
2.	Services
3.	Staff
4.	Complaints and representations
5.	Records and accessing them

4. Complaints and representations.
Information about how to complain should be in the agency's Statement of Purpose and the Children's Guide

 

The agency should have a complaints procedure that:

• Includes information about how to make a complaint
• Does not restrict the things that may be complained about in relation to the services or the conduct of the agency
• States how complaints will be handled
• Provides or ways to make a complaint where appropriate
• Is accessible to people with physical, sensory and learning impairments and those whose first language isn't English.

All staff should receiving training covering the following areas:

• What makes a complaint
• The procedure for dealing with complaints and how this recorded
• Where complaints can be made outside of the agency
• What should be done of a complaint can not be sorted out quickly and informally including who should be told about this and what records should be kept
• Who a child can be helped in making a complaint

Records should be kept of all complaints made and how they were dealt with including the outcome. These should be checked to make sure things are being delta with properly.