Are you looking for what your options are when it comes to adoption agencies in the UK? Are you looking to become an adoptive parent soon? Or, are you a birth parent looking for adoption agencies in the UK that can help match your child to loving adoptive parents? Keep reading, we have something for everyone in this blog article!
Adopting a child in the UK can be an exciting and rewarding process, but it requires hard work, patience, and different pieces of paperwork completion.
The good news is that those who want to adopt or foster a child are supported by a variety of UK-based organizations.
In this article, we’ll share details about the adoption agencies available in England, Wales, and Scotland to help guide you through the adoption process.
List of the Adoption Agencies in the UK
The following is a list of adoption agencies in the UK. This list is not exhaustive and does not include all the adoption agencies in the UK:
Adoption UK
Adoption UK is one of the top national adoption agencies in the UK. They provide support to anyone considering adoption, whatever their circumstances, and they work to ensure that more children in care find a loving home through adoption.
Adoption UK has a network of highly experienced and qualified staff who provide information and advice on all aspects of adoption; exploring your options; preparing yourself for this exciting journey ahead; supporting you through the legal process; helping you find your child once they have been matched with you.
Adoption Matters
If you’re looking for some of the reputable adoption agencies in the UK, you might want to consider Adoption Matters.
Established by a small group of people who were concerned about the lack of support for people affected by adoption, as well as those who wanted to become adoptive parents, it is now a registered charity that provides support services throughout England and Wales.
After Adoption
After Adoption is one of the national charitable adoption agencies in the UK that supports adopted people and their families. They provide a range of services including adoption counseling, support groups, and advisory on adoption matches.
The charity also has an online forum where people can share their experiences of being adopted or have been involved in placing a child for adoption.
After Adoption offers training and consultancy services to other organizations working with adoptions including adoption agencies, family courts, health professionals, and social workers.
Barnardo’s
Barnardo’s is a children’s charitable adoption agency that helps children and families at home and abroad. They are one of the largest adoption agencies in the UK, with over 20 years of experience helping children as young as birth through to 19 years old.
Barnardo’s runs more than 200 services including preschools, early help projects, family centers, and special schools in England; residential homes for looked-after children in Wales; family support services across Northern Ireland; supported accommodation for homeless families across Scotland; overseas programs supporting vulnerable children and young people in 12 countries around the world.
CCS Adoption
CCS Adoption is equally one of the largest adoption agencies in the UK, with over 50 years of experience and a track record of helping thousands of children find their permanent families.
CCS Adoption is a national charity organization set up to help children who cannot live with their birth families.
The services they provide include assessing and approving adoptive parents, supporting them through legal processes, providing information about birth parents to adopters and adoptive children, as well as facilitating contact between adopters and birth families.
They help children who are in need of a permanent family – this includes those who have been looked after by local authorities for more than two years or whose heritage is unknown.
ARC Adoption
ARC Adoption is an independent children’s adoption agency that takes care of the legal, administrative and practical aspects of adoption. They are based in the UK and were founded in 1994.
ARC Adoption is a member of BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) now CoramBAAF, which is the UK’s largest membership organization for professionals working in child welfare services.
IAC – The Centre for Adoption
The IAC is an adoption agency in the UK that works to help children and birth parents in need. They work with children in the UK, Ireland, and worldwide.
IAC helps children who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected and those who have been in care.
Yorkshire Adoption Agency
Yorkshire Adoption Agency is a specialist adoption agency in the UK. Established over 70 years ago, they have been operating in Yorkshire and Humber for more than a decade.
They help children and families from birth to age 18 with a range of services including adoption, care leaver support, and fostering. They also help children in need of long-term residential care by providing accommodation for them to live at one of their three specialist homes.
St. Francis’ Children’s Society
St. Francis’ Children’s Society is a top charitable adoption agency in the UK that helps children and families. They support children who are in need of adoption, but they also support children who are not in need of adoption but are in need of support.
St. Francis’ also offers training for prospective adoptive parents who are looking to bring a child into their home. In addition, this agency is one of the few adoption agencies in the UK that help reconnect lost children to their parents when cases of lost children are reported to them.
First4Adoption
First4Adoption is a specialist adoption agency based in the UK, working with the National Adoption Register.
They currently have many children waiting to be adopted, but they are often unable to find families for these children because they do not have enough adoptive parents on hand.
First4Adoption is a charity that prides itself on being able to provide excellent service at all times. You can visit their website as it provides further information about the services offered by First4Adoption.
Action for Children Adoption – South West
Action for Children Adoption – South West is an adoption agency based in Bristol, UK. The agency provides adoption services in the South West of England.
The agency provides adoption services for children and young people aged 0-19; this includes babies, toddlers, older children and adolescents.
The service is provided by a team of social workers who are experienced at assessing families wishing to adopt a child or young person (aged 0-19).
Action for Children Adoption – South West helps local authorities with their recruitment programs for new adoptive parents and also works with other agencies such as fostering agencies that can help support adoptive families after the placement has taken place.
Home for Good – Christian Adoption Charity (UK)
Home for Good is a Christian adoption charity whose mission is to bring hope and healing to orphans and vulnerable children in the UK and around the world.
They’re members of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, as well as the Evangelical Alliance, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), and Children’s International Adoption Agency Network (IAN).
In addition to offering adoption services in London, they also offer services outside of London through their regional offices that serve areas like Hampshire, Essex, Kent, and Bedfordshire.
Caritas Care Limited
Caritas Care Limited is an adoption agency based in the UK. The charity has been helping children and families for over 50 years and cares for children from birth to their adulthood.
Caritas offers a range of services, including fostering and adoption, maternity services, family support, parenting courses, and training.
Faith in Families
Faith in Families is a Christian adoption agency that helps people find families for children and young adults. They also provide services to help people who are struggling with infertility, or whose relationships have broken down.
One Adoption North and Humber
One Adoption North and Humber is an adoption agency based in Hull. It’s a member of the Association of Independent Adoption Agencies (AIA)
One Adoption North and Humber works with prospective adopters to find them the right child or children. The organization is not-for-profit, so it aims to help as many children as possible find loving homes, while giving families the chance to adopt when they have been waiting for years.
Adoption Tees Valley
If you’re looking to adopt a child, Adoption Tees Valley might be the right agency for you. It is a private charity organization that helps children and families in the Tees Valley area.
Their services include assessments and support for adopting parents, as well as parenting courses that can help adults who are struggling with their own family life.
Birthlink
Birthlink is a charity that helps people who are thinking about adoption and people who have already adopted.
Birthlink provides information, support and advice to people who are thinking about adoption and people who have already adopted. It also offers a range of services to help them with their decision-making, such as:
- A helpline staffed by trained advisors offering information on all aspects of adoption, including fostering and kinship care.
- Support groups for parents considering or experiencing the process.
Adoption Wolverhampton
Adoption Wolverhampton is a charity that helps children in need of a home. The agency has been helping children since and continues to do so today.
The agency is run by a board of trustees and they have many foster parents who care for the children until they can be adopted.
They help children from birth to 18 years old and work with all kinds of families, including single-parent families, same-sex couples, step families and grandparents looking to add more love (and kids!) into their lives.
Manchester City Council Social Work Services
Manchester City Council Social Work Services offers a range of services to children, young people and their families. The services include adoption support and information, fostering support, section 21 assessments for prospective adopters, adoptive parent counselling and a range of other related services.
It is one of the adoption agencies in the UK set up by the government to help prospective parents adopt a child. In addition, they offer support to displaced or homeless people in Manchester, drug-addicted teenagers on rehabilitation, and other commendable social services.
National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group
NARSG is a national recruitment campaign for children in care. It’s a partnership between adoption agencies in the UK like Home for Good, and other social charity outfits like CoramBAAF and the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) to raise awareness on adoption in the UK.
It aims to place children who have been taken into care with new families. The NARSG team works closely with local authorities across England, including Birmingham City Council, Nottingham City Council and Wandsworth London Borough Council.
St. David’s Children Society
St. David’s Children Society is a national charity that provides support for children and young people who are in need of a permanent family.
St. David’s Children Society is the largest adoption and fostering agency in Wales, providing adoption and fostering services throughout Wales.
They offer a range of services to support adopted children and birth parents, as well as parents considering adoption or fostering.
Nugent Adoption
Nugent Adoption is a charity that works to improve the lives of children and families. It provides support, advice and information to anyone involved with or interested in adoption.
Coram Group
Coram has a group of operating charities all over the UK. They have been giving care to children, bringing them to loving, adoptive homes, and providing fostering services since 1739 – they may well be one of the oldest adoption agencies in the UK.
Coram is a children’s charity based in London. The agency helps to find families for children who cannot live with their own families, or who are in the care of local authorities. They also give advice about adoption, surrogacy and other forms of parenting.
Coram works with parents across the UK who want to adopt a child or would like information on adoption as an option for them.
Cornerstone Adoption and Fostering Service
Cornerstone Adoption and Fostering Service is a UK-based charity that provides support to foster parents and adoptive families.
Cornerstone has been providing these services and has built up an extensive network of foster-care-giving parents who are capable of offering safe, happy homes for children who really need them.
The organization offers support to adoptive parents, including training and advice on how best to deal with any issues arising from having adopted children.
Northamptonshire County Council Social Care and Education
Northamptonshire County Council Social Care and Education is a leading public adoption agency in the UK. It works to find families for children awaiting adoption, as well as supporting birth parents who want to keep their child after giving them up for adoption.
Family Futures CIC
Family Futures is an independent adoption agency that provides support to families in the UK. The charity runs a number of services, including its family center in London, which offers advice and support for families with children aged 0-5 years old.
It also runs a family center in the West Midlands and another in the North West. Family Futures also provides support to children’s homes across England and Wales as well as helping parents make informed choices about residential care options.
The organization also runs several programs which help people who are thinking about adoption, which aims to help birth mothers decide whether they want to place their child up for adoption or keep them themselves.
Parents and Children Together – PACT
PACT is a charity that works to improve the lives of children and young people through the provision of adoption, fostering and family support services.
PACT is a registered charity that works to improve the lives of children and young people through the provision of adoption, fostering and family support services.
Post-Adoption Center (London)
The Post-Adoption Center (London) is a non-profit organization that helps families who have adopted children with special needs. The organization was founded in 2005 by Maxine and Ian Whitfield, who both have adopted children with special needs themselves.
It was created to help parents and families who are dealing with raising an adopted child with disabilities or other medical issues by providing information, support groups, counseling and assistance finding financial assistance for medical bills.
General Overview of the Child Adoption Process in the UK
In the United Kingdom, many adoption agencies are licensed to place children in permanent homes.
These are known as adoption agencies and they manage everything from matching children with adoptive parents to the legal processes involved in finalizing the adoption.
If you are an adoptive parent looking to adoption a child soon, or a birth parent with an unplanned pregnancy, you can contact any of these adoption agencies in the UK that we have listed in this blog.
We’ve done a bit of digging and we have found out these are some of the top adoption agencies in the UK with better rating by Ofsted.
Adoption Laws in the UK
Adoption laws in the UK are based on the Children Act of 1989 and provide for adoption by a person or persons related to the child and others who wish to adopt. There are several types of adoption, including:
- Private Adoption – where an unrelated person or couple adopts a baby from another country (usually overseas).
- Local Authority Adoptions – where a local authority places children with families who want to adopt them from its own care system.
- Intercountry Adoption – when adoptive parents apply for permission from their local authority to bring home a child from abroad.
Wrapping It Up
With so many adoption agencies in the UK, it’s important to choose one that you trust. Since each agency has its own set of policies, you should ask questions and make sure that your values align with their practices before committing to a particular agency.
There are so many adoption agencies in the UK to choose from, and so many ways for prospective parents to adopt a child in the UK, including through independent adoptions and private domestic adoptions.
If you have questions about which adoption path is best for you or what laws apply when adopting from foster care, you can contact any of the adoption agencies in the UK on this list, or an experienced adoption attorney in your area.