• • Birth parents or guardians of an agency adoptive child • • • A relative (or someone with whom the local authority consider the child to have a beneficial relationship) of agency adoptive child • • Intercountry adoptive child • • • • Intercountry adoptive parent • • • Birth sibling of an adoptive child • • Non-agency adoptive children, their parents and guardians • Prospective adopters • Adopted adults, their parent, birth parent and former guardians • A relative (or someone with whom the local authority consider the child to have a beneficial relationship) of a non-agency adoptive child • Adoption support services adviser (ASSA): ASR 6 9.9. All local authorities must appoint an Adoption Support Services Adviser (ASSA). The role of the ASSA is to: 167  give advice and information to people affected by adoption - a single point of contact to provide information, signpost appropriate services and to advise on how those services may be accessed;  give advice, information and assistance to other staff in the local authority on assessments of need for adoption support services, the availability of services locally and effective planning for service delivery - in particular, supporting and facilitating intra- and inter-agency joint working where needed;  give advice on good practice in adoption where needed;  consult with, and give advice, information and assistance to other local authorities as appropriate, for example, liaising between authorities where a family is moving between areas to try to ensure a smooth transition in the provision of support services. 9.10. In a small local authority, the ASSA may well be able to deal directly with queries from adoptive families and queries regarding individual support plans. However, in larger authorities this may not be pos