Frequently asked questions from adopted people

Adopted people can speak to their regional adoption agency about accessing support locally to where they live, such as peer support, access to records, and support with accessing counselling and therapy. Adoptive parents can apply to access the Adoption Support Fund on behalf of their child, up to the age of 21, or 25 with an education health and care plan. The fund entitles every adopted child to £5,000 for specialised therapy, as well a separate amount of up to £2,500 per child if special assessments are needed.

There are also a range of dedicated charities and services for adopted people and families:

Adoption UK
Provides support, information, and community for adopted people and families. You can also access helplines, forums, and other resources.

Adopteens – Adopted Teenagers in Yorkshire & Humberside

Adopteens is a service for adopted teenagers across Yorkshire &  Humberside. It was designed and developed by adopted teenagers for adopted teenagers. It is run by PAC-UK who are part of Family Action and was launched in 2014, originally under the name ‘AT-ID Project’. Their vision is to offer adopted teenagers a safe space to be themselves, to makes new friends and to be part of a group that has the power to speak out and make a difference.

Adult Adoptee Movement 
A group of UK adoptees, challenging attitudes to historic adoptions and striving to change the narrative on adoption. The Adult Adoptee Movement campaigns for rights and appropriate services for adult adoptees.

Barnardo’s Link 
Provides therapeutic services to anyone affected by adoption, based across London, East Anglia, South East and South West England. The service offers Attachment Focused Therapy (AFT) provided by therapists who specialise in adoption support therapy. 

Coram Voice
A support service for younger adopted people, championing the rights of children to ensure their voices are heard in decisions throughout the adoption process. They work with children in care, care leavers and any child who has or needs a social worker.

Family Connect
Helps adults who have been adopted or in care find answers to questions about their origins.

How to Be Adopted 
A UK based organisation run by a group of adult adoptees dedicated to improving the wellbeing of adopted people by sharing experiences, hosting meetups and campaigning for more support.

PAC-UK
Provides support, information, and community for adopted people and families. You can also access helplines, forums, and other resources.

The Dunbar Project (previously Adoptee Futures)
Offers safe spaces for adult adoptees to connect, learn, and heal through workshops, activities, coaching and food. They focus on multiple minority adoptees, providing three distinct groups for all adoptees, Black adoptees, and LGBTQIA+ adoptees.

It’s best to first speak to the adoption agency responsible for the adoption to access any records that they have. Family Connect  provide a great source of information to help adopted people trace their birth relatives and may be able to offer support and assistance in the search. Adopted people can also add themselves to The Adoption Contact Register to assist in finding their birth relatives.

Every adoption is different. Contact between a child and their birth family (and others who have been important in their lives) must always be considered when a child is placed for adoption. What is right for an individual child varies and a plan will be made for each child. The child’s needs are central to any plan which must also take account of the adopter’s views. All adopters have thorough preparation and training and are offered plenty of support to consider what may be right for their child. When done in a safe, careful and supported way, contact can have a positive impact on the adopted child and help them to understand their past and form a more complete sense of their identity.

Adoption agencies today are on a journey to modernising contact in adoption, and recognise that the system is not always perfect yet in terms of people accessing the support they need in a timely way, or indeed receiving the information they need to inform contact. Contact is a priority area for the adoption sector, and there is a lot of work going on to work towards being better able to meet the need of adopted people and birth families. Professor Beth Neil is a leading voice in contact in adoption, having researched the adopted children’s’ contact for over 20 years. She has said: “From all our research and those who’ve taken part in our studies, we see that this sense of identity can be improved by knowing more about your birth family and where you come from, and by staying in touch with significant people where it is safe to do so. This can help adopted people fill in gaps in their life story and give them a more complete sense of who they are and why they needed to be adopted. It can also lessen feelings of loss that adopted people often experience and can support them to thrive in their adoptive families.”

Helping an adopted person to make sense of their past is a lifelong process for many families. Any contact provisions made by the adoption agency or as part of the court order will come to an end once the adopted person reaches 18 years old. What happens next will be up the adopted person and they will need to decide how to move forward. Contact will no longer be regulated by social workers or an agency, which will mean adopted people will need to decide what form the contact will take, how regular it will be and what things should be discussed. They may want the help of their adoptive family, but some will find this difficult or be concerned that doing so will hurt their feelings. Support groups for adopted people and therapy can be useful.

In England, adopted adults have the legal right to access their birth records once they reach the age of 18. This includes information about their birth parents. The first step typically involves contacting the adoption agency responsible for their adoption, the agency will guide them through the necessary steps to obtain the relevant records and offer any advice. 

The availability of original birth certificates varies by jurisdiction. Some adoption agencies can assist in obtaining such documents, while others may direct you to other services that may be able to help. Check with your adoption agency for guidance on accessing your original birth certificate.

The first point of contact is always to speak to the agency responsible for your adoption as they most often hold access to the records. If you’re not happy with the service that’s been provided by the adoption agency, you can submit a formal complaint via their internal procedure. You can also contact Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills), who may investigate and address concerns related to the agency's practices.

In some cases, if the issue remains unresolved, you can escalate the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman. This independent body investigates complaints about local authorities and certain other bodies, including adoption agencies, to ensure they are providing services fairly. If there are legal aspects to the complaint, seeking legal advice may be an option. A solicitor with expertise in adoption law can provide guidance on potential legal action or solutions.