Every Child Matters

Could you Foster or Adopt a child?

Over 4,000 children in the UK are waiting for a new family, either through adoption or permanent (long term) fostering. There are many reasons why children are placed into care. All kinds of people, from all kinds of backgrounds and cultures are needed to become adoptive parents and foster carers for all types of children.

Every child or young person deserves a home that makes them feel secure, safe comfortable, loved and cared for - a home that's right for their age, ethnicity, religion and social needs. This is equally true for young people with learning difficulties or a range of physical disabilities.

Our Every Child Matters section is designed to help you locate your local authority or the best independent agency for you and provide you with resources that will help you find out everything you need to know regarding Fostering and Adoption.

To locate your local contacts for Fostering or Adoption please click on the map.

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The adoption process and where to get support

Once you have made the decision to adopt a child, the first thing you will need to do is contact your local adoption agency to make an initial inquiry. After this, your adoption agency may ask you to a meeting where you can meet and chat with social workers and adoptive parents.

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Case Study: Cultural understanding

The following case gives an example of two children from an Indian background that needed to be removed from their family of origin and taken into foster care.

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TACT brighter futures for children & young people: Our adoption experience.

We were in our very late 30s when our son was born and try as we might, I couldn’t get pregnant again. We decided that egg donation was not for us and that trying to adopt was.

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What is adoption?

Adoption is a way of providing a new family for a child when living with their own family is not possible. It is the means of giving a child an opportunity to start again; for many children, adoption may be their only chance of experiencing family life.

Becoming a Foster Carer

Anyone can apply to be a foster carer, so long as they have the qualities needed to look after children who cannot live with their parents. There is no maximum age limit for being a foster carer.

Fostering & Adoption:
Your Questions answered

What’s the difference between adoption and fostering?
With adoption, legal ties to the birth parents are cut and all parental rights and responsibilities pass to the adoptive parents. The child becomes a full member of the family and has the same rights as any natural child would enjoy.

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Who Cares?

The Who Cares? Trust is primarily an organisation that works in support of children and young people who are living in the care of local authorities. We publish two quarterly magazines for children in care (Who Cares? for 13 + and Klic for 8 – 12 year olds) which are purchased by local authorities and contain much material originated by children themselves e.g. poems etc.