Department aims to replace 17 year-old database to increase number of matches between adopters and children
The Department for Education (DfE) is aiming to develop a new national Adoption Register to replace a database that has been in use since 2001.
It has issued a prior information notice indicating that it wants to create a new system in line with the Government Digital Service’s Technology Code of Practice. It will have to interoperate with third party services providing for the movement of data to and from the DfE when required.
The department has said it may be a software-as-a-service solution or built on its existing Microsoft Azure infrastructure, with a preference for platform-as-a-service; but that the priority is to focus on user needs.
The existing database is used by social workers and prospective approved adopters to match them with children in need of homes.
Over 2016-17 it provided 233 matches, but the DfE said that this can increase by giving prospective adopters access to search for their own matches.
It has projected the development to be a six-month project valued at approximately £500,000.
Image by Inaki Perez de Albeniz, CC BY 2.0 through flickr
