Post adoption support

Please see below the core offer from the Post Adoption and SGO support team, previously known as the Permanence Support Team (PST). This offer reflects the needs of the children and a families we work with. We want to work collaboratively and empower the parents and SGO carers with their care of the children who require support from our service.

We have a specialist team dedicated to post adoption support.

Adoption is an ongoing process. Many adoptive families benefit from different kinds of support over the years.

We have an open door to you and provide support and advice about any aspect of adoptive parenting.

We will also provide a special life story book for your adopted child with information about adoption, and why they’ve been adopted.

You can contact us about:

• counselling, financial help, Suffolk support groups and advice
• assessment of adoption support needs
• details of specialist services and how to access them
• therapeutic services
• supporting your child to maintain links with their birth family
• training and workshops
• intermediary service
• access to a child’s records
• support for children who have experienced loss and trauma
• advice for adoptive parents moving to a different local authority.

For more information

We know that being an adopted child may not always be easy and there might be things that you don’t understand or would like help with. But there is always someone you can talk to.

These are some of things that your child might need support with:

• Information about birth families
• Understanding why they were adopted
• Arranging to keep in touch with brothers and sisters, their birth parents or other relatives and friends
• Understanding their feelings – sometimes they might feel angry or sad or just not know how they feel
• Coping with school, some children who are adopted find school very difficult and need extra help.

If you would like to talk to someone about any of these things, you or your parents can contact the Permanence Support Team on 01473 265700.

For more information

In Suffolk, the Keeping in Touch team is here to support birth parents and relatives whose children are being cared for by adopters or special guardians. Our staff appreciate the journey you have taken to reach us and the courage this is likely to have taken.

If you live separately from your children, we are here for you regardless of when your child was adopted or placed with special guardians, and we are committed to offering you the support you need.

We have a range of in-house support services along with connections to other organisations who you may find helpful, please get in touch if you would like to know more.

Arrangements for contact are agreed in writing before the child is adopted. This includes how often contact is made, and whether it is direct (in person) or indirect (through our Keeping In Touch service).

We can provide support for birth relatives wanting help with contact arrangements, counselling, or intermediary services.

Birth relatives can also access information around counselling via Adoptionplus - Birth Relative Counselling | Adoptionplus

For more information

‘Keeping in Touch’ (formerly Letterbox) refers to any form of contact between an adopted person and their birth family. It may be direct (face-to-face, online or by telephone) or indirect (via letter or email) and involve the child’s birth parents, siblings or relations from the wider family. Arrangements for Keeping In Touch can be made before a child is adopted. This can include how often contact can be made and whether it can be direct or indirect.

Maintaining a link with birth family can help children understand more about their background and identity, can improve their self-esteem and help them feel more secure and accepted in their adoptive family.

The ‘Keeping in Touch team’ are here to support with existing keeping in touch agreements, answer queries and support with establishing new agreements. We provide support to birth families and adoptive parents and can help with moving contact from indirect to direct where appropriate. The team also helps birth families and adoptive parents share difficult news when needed and can provide letter writing support.

We are here to advise and support birth families and adoptive families and can signpost and refer to other support services and agencies.

Click to read our leaflet.

Direct Contact

Direct contact (face to face meetings) will be part of some agreements. Direct contact can take place between the child and their birth parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends/kinship members. During these meetings, the child is always supported by their adoptive parents.

Direct contact would usually start with a meeting between the adults, for example the adoptive parents and the birth parents / grandparents or between the adoptive parents of adopted siblings. The Keeping in Touch team will be there to support this meeting.

Please see guidance for further information (page 10)

Email Contact

Email contact can be set up as part of a Keeping in Touch agreement and can be a good way for adoptive families and birth relatives to share information. Email contact can be set up alongside direct contact and can include pictures as part of the agreement.

Please see guidance for further information (page 9)

Letter Contact

Sending letters is a way for adopters and birth family to exchange news and updates about the adopted child/young person. Letter agreements can include cards, drawings, and photographs as part of the agreement.

Whilst letters are written from adult to adult, some adopted children gradually become involved in the letter writing process themselves, by asking questions through their adoptive parents or including a letter they have written.

Please see guidance in the 'Support for birth relatives of adopted children' for further information (page 5)

Research on contact

• A study carried out by Professor Elsbeth Neil at the University of East Anglia, Contact After Adoption
• PAC-UK Big Consult of Adopted People, PAC-UK-Big-Consult-of-Adopted-People-v1.1-FINAL.pdf
• PAC-UK Big Consult of Birth Parents, PAC-UK-Big-Consult-of-Birth-Parents-v1.1-FINAL.pdf
• Summary of Key findings about contact for adopted young people (PDF)
• Summary of key findings for adopters (PDF)
• Summary of key findings for birth family relatives (PDF)

Adoptionplus offer adoption support and counselling for our birth relatives. They can also provide support for adopted children and their families.

Birth Relative Counselling | Adoptionplus

From the age of 18, your child can ask for a copy of their original birth certificate, which will show:

• their original name
• the name of their birth mother
• (possibly) the name of their birth father
• their address when their birth was registered
• The Adoption Contact Register can also help an adopted child get in touch with you.

You can add your details to the Adoption Contact Register using the following link:

Adoption records: The Adoption Contact Register - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

You can add yourself to the Adoption Contact Register if you’re 18 or over and your birth or adoption was registered with the General Register Office.

This means that you are more visible if a birth relative is looking for you and more details can be found on the website.

Alternatively, adopted children can call 01473 265700 for advice about contacting their birth relatives.

Adult Adoptee Services

If you are an adult aged 18 and over, you can apply for access to information about your birth origins. How you go about this will vary depending on the date of your adoption. If you were adopted prior to 2005 and live in Suffolk we will offer support. Call 01473 265700 to ask about your birth records or birth family.

If you were adopted after 2005 then it is the responsibility of the adoption agency responsible for your adoption to support you with accessing your records.

Adopted before 12^th November 1975

If you were adopted before 12^th November 1975 you can apply to the General Register Office for information which will enable you to request a copy of your original birth certificate. You must contact your local authority as they will receive the information from the General Register Office and will then share it with you.

Adopted between 12^th November 1975 and 30^th December 2005

If you were adopted after 12^th November 1975, but before 30^th December 2005 you can apply to the General Register Office for a copy of your original birth certificate information. This will be sent to you directly. You will then be sent an application form in order to request your birth certificate and details of the adoption contact register, should wish to pursue this further. 

Adopted after 30^th December 2005

If you were adopted after 30^th December 2005, and are over 18 years old you will need to contact the Agency through which you were adopted to access your original birth certificate, adoption records and support.

Visit GOV.UK's adoption pages for more information and the forms.

Accessing information

If you decide you want access to information from your adoption file, we can help support you with:

• advice and information about how to access your adoption records
• advice about contact registers
• advice about searching methods
• signpost for intermediary services

What if I want to make contact with my birth family?

We would recommend accessing your adoption records before tracing and making contact with any birth relatives.

Support for adopted adults and birth relatives:

For support for adopted adults or their descendants or birth relatives wanting help with contact arrangements, counselling, or intermediary services. Please see the list of services attached:

If you are under the age of 21 (or 25 with an EHCP) you may be able to access support funded through the Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund. You will need to speak to your local authority to discuss how to access this.

For more information

Children adopted from care can sometimes have ongoing needs, which we can help with. We will assess your support needs and advise you on the services available to you.

Adoptive parents can have access to:

• a copy of your child’s permanence report
• a summary of your child’s health from Suffolk Adoption’s medical advisor
• a ‘life story’ book of your child’s early life
• an assessment of your child’s special educational needs
• The adoption passport from First4Adoption gives an overview of the support that you may be entitled to as an adopter.

The government created the Adoption Support Fund to provide extra services and support for adoption.

The fund will pay for therapeutic services such as cognitive therapy, play, and music therapy.

Our adoption support services can also offer advice to other local authorities about:

• adoption support services
• assessments of need for support
• availability of local services
• how to work between other adoption agencies.

If you're unhappy with the service we've provided, you can make a complaint.

If you're unsatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can refer it to the Local Government Ombudsman.