Nothing brings more delight into a family’s life than a child. Here in the UK we have two options for adopting a child into your family: either adopting through a local authority or via a non-profit organisation like Adopters for Adoption. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of choosing to adopt with each, and how you can get started with adoption today.
Local Authority vs. Voluntary Adoption Agency: What’s the difference?
Local Authority: Your Local Authority is a governmental organisation which is responsible for many services in your area, including the care of every child who cannot live with their biological family. Your Local Authority may be part of a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), which is where several Local Authorities merge to create a larger adoption agency to serve their area.
The pros of adopting with your Local Authority…
- The chance to support a child living in your local area
- A wider pool of very young children, such as babies
Voluntary Adoption Agency (VAA): VAA’s like Adopters for Adoption do not directly care for children; instead, we work closely with Local Authorities to help find families for children who are being placed for adoption.
So, why choose Adopters for Adoption?
By choosing our Voluntary Adoption Agency, you’ll receive support at every step of your adoption journey from enquiry to welcoming your child home and beyond. Adopters for Adoption was founded by real-life adopters in 2014, people who understand the importance of having a bubble of support when you make the decision to adopt a child in need of a safe and loving home.
The road to adoption takes time, patience, and lots of emotional energy. That’s why you’ll need the right support when adopting a child, whether you’re adopting as a couple or adopting as a single person. We offer tons of support for our adoptive families, including:
- Top quality training. Research shows that even if someone is adopted as a baby or very young child, they do not join their new family as a blank slate. Even if a child cannot remember their birth family, the trauma of separation and whatever they may have experienced in their former home can still result in trauma and impact their development. It’s your job as a parent to help your child work through these challenges. During your adoption assessment we’ll help you to understand therapeutic parenting techniques to help your child to thrive.
- A quality family-finding process. When you adopt with us you’ll be guided through the assessment process by a supervising social worker, before working with them and our excellent Agency Family Finder to help you bring your little one home. We work with local authorities across the country, meaning you’ll have the potential to be matched with a wide range of children. We give careful attention to the matching process, taking into account your strengths, needs and preferences, as well as those of every child we consider, to help ensure you and your new family member will be the perfect fit for one another.
- Post-adoption support. The hands-on support we provide doesn’t stop when you bring your child home. You’ll always be able to reach out for help from our adoption support team, and we’ll give you a free membership to Adoption UK and, if you’re an LGBTIQA+ adopter, to New Family Social. As well as the government funds you’ll be entitled to, like the adoption support fund, we’ll be on hand to help you support your child through Life Story work and helping you to access therapeutic services.
- Support with birth family contact. Many people don’t realise that most adoptions in the UK are open. This means that, in all but the most extreme circumstances, a child’s birth family will maintain some form of contact with or knowledge about your child even after adoption. This looks different depending on the family’s circumstances and what you’re comfortable with, but in many cases you’ll be required to send yearly letters to your child’s birth parents, or may even meet up with their biological siblings from time to time. We’ll teach you how to navigate contact with birth families in a way that’s safe and satisfactory for everyone.
Why should I keep in contact with my child’s birth family?
An adopter’s relationship with birth family members is an important element of how you’ll support your child as they grow up. The desire to remove a child entirely from their former life often comes from the parental instinct to protect the child from any harm. That being said, every person deserves to have a full understanding about their own life, even if that life can sometimes be complicated.
Having the chance to know birth family members helps a child to have a full sense of their identity. Learn more about the importance of birth family contact in modern day adoptions, and why it can be beneficial for you as well as for your child and their biological relatives.
What our adopters say about Adopters for Adoption…
“The adoption process can be very draining, but you’ll receive lots of support with Adopters for Adoption, like I have. The staff have been very supportive and efficient and the support groups for adoptive parents have been a lifeline.”
“One thing that’s been a massive help is finding a local group of other adoptive parents who we really click with. It took some time to find our tribe, but we met an amazing group of people at Adopters for Adoption’s therapeutic parenting course. Completing the course has given us friendships which will last a lifetime.”
Start your adoption journey today!
Almost 3,000 children were adopted across the UK last year, which is slightly down on last year’s figures. With so many children waiting for a loving home, there’s now more need than ever for more adoptive parents to give children a nurturing home where they will always be welcome, through their childhood and beyond.
If you’re interested in adopting a child, we would love to help you on your journey. If you think you might want to adopt with us, the first step is to attend an online adoption information event, where you’ll receive tons of information and have all of your questions answered. Join us at our next session, or register your interest with us today, and a member of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
[Download our information pack for potential adopters] [Who can adopt in the UK?]
