Formerly a branch of the Association of Directors for Social Services UK, ADSS Cymru gained its independent status on 1 April 2007. The restructure came about following legislative changes in England in 2005 and to reflect the increasingly diverging political and legislative landscape in Wales.
The proposal for a reconfiguration was overwhelmingly voted through a year later and as a result, the UK association was split into three separate groups: the Association of Directors for Adult Social Services (ADASS), the Association for Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), and ADSS Cymru.
Since then, ADSS Cymru has worked hard to create a unified leadership voice for social services in Wales by raising its public profile, making significant contributions to the development of public social care policy and forging closer relationships with other key professional bodies.
Today, we are leading on the transformation and improvement of social services in Wales and focussing our efforts on promoting joint working, outcome-based approach and change of culture against a backdrop of growing demand and reduced resources. As such, we have played a major role in debates around the Sustainable Social Services for Wales: A Framework for Action and the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014.