Ready to gently guide and support you through the adoption process
Ready to gently guide and support you through the adoption process
In October 2020, the Leicester City Council Adoption Service joined together with four other local authorities to create Family Adoption Links, a regional adoption agency (RAA) designed to deliver excellence and best practices across all areas of adoption.
Rated ‘Good’ by OFSTED, the team are known by adopters for providing a positive experience for all those involved in the adoption process, and because they know that taking the first steps to becoming an adopter can be very emotional, they provide the right guidance and support needed to become an adoptive parent.
Last year the team successfully placed 57 children for adoption. Most of these children were placed within weeks or months of an adopter’s approval. The team continue to provide post adoption support through advice and guidance, social events, newsletters and training.
Many people who contact Family Adoption Links Leicester are concerned that their life-history hasn’t been perfect and that they may not be accepted because of this. On the contrary, challenging experiences often give people strength and insights that can help them care for vulnerable children. Remember one thing – you can adopt and there are children who are waiting right now for someone like you to come forward.
Family Adoption Links hold free, monthly and online Information Events to give you the opportunity to find out everything you need to know about adoption and enjoy a unique opportunity to hear from and ask questions from people who have already adopted.
Every year Family Adoption Links Leicester place, and continue to support, a substantial number of children with adoptive families. Some need placements on their own, others are brothers and sisters who need to stay together.
While most of the children are White British, children from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds also need placements including Asian, African, African Caribbean and mixed heritage children.
All adopted children are individuals who need to be carefully matched to the right family. Great care is taken to get the right match so that adopters and their children can have the best chance of a happy future together.
The team are always pleased to hear from adopters whether you are single, in a relationship, civil partnered or married. Adopters from the LGBT+ community are very welcome and the team would also like to hear from Black African or Caribbean adopters as there is a national shortage of adopters for children from these backgrounds.
We welcome adopters for
Support during the adoption process
Family Adoption Links Leicester are an established team made up of experienced, knowledgeable, committed social workers and support staff who specialise in all aspects of adoption. The team recruit, train, assess and support prospective adopters to provide adoptive families for children in the care of Family Adoption Links or on the National Adoption Register.
You can expect a professional and confidential service, friendly and approachable staff, one worker to see you through the whole process (from assessment through to placement of a child and granting of an adoption order) and excellent support after adoption.
When you call, a friendly enquiry officer will give you initial advice about what to do next. This may be to attend an information event or speak directly to a social worker who will be available from 10am to 2pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
After adoption: the support will you get
Following the adoption order you can continue to receive post adoption support services including advice and information, training, counselling and help with getting benefits.
The right support for you
The Children and Families Support Team is made up of social workers, mental health practitioners, a childcare support worker and an adoption support worker. Our dedicated team come with a vast range of skills and knowledge to support our adopted families and those affected by adoption.
Will I get post adoption support?
You are entitled to receive post-adoption support from us if:
If it is three years after the Adoption Order and/or you do not reside in Leicester, you will need to contact the local council where you live for support.
If your case needs to be transferred to us from another local council, you can ring us using the number on this page.
What support is available?
Adopted children are entitled to the same range of services as any child including, for example, special educational and medical services, as well as general advice and support. However, you might need help with particular issues that can come with adopting and this is where we come in. As part of our service, you can expect:
Are you worried about your child's mental health?
Our team has close links to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and have regular consultation with them. Referrals to CAMHS can be made as part of the Post Adoption Assessment of Needs. If you are worried about your child’s mental health speak to your GP who can also make a referral.
Support from other adoptive parents
Sometimes the best form of support comes from other experienced adoptive parents and carers. A local support group that we signpost our adopters to is LAFS (Leicestershire Adoption and Foster Carers Support) a peer support group for adopters, foster carers and special guardians in Leicester City and Leicestershire. Click on the link below for more information:
Other supporting agencies include:
Post Adoption Assessment of Needs
Within the first three years of the Adoption Order being made, it is the responsibility of the local authority who placed your child to complete this assessment. After the three years, the local authority where you live is responsible in carrying out this.
If you feel you need an assessment, simply call our team using the number on this page. Once your request has been accepted you will be assigned a social worker who will carry out the assessment. From here, recommendations for further support may be made, which may include signposting you to other agencies or gaining access to more bespoke therapeutic services.
Due to the skillset of the team, we are able to provide some of the therapeutic support you may need, which may include Theraplay, Play Therapy and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). However, the assessment can also lead to applications to the Adoption Support Fund for therapeutic support and even training for adopters.
Our son has brought us so much happiness. He is a fantastic little boy and although he does not stop whilst he is awake - we wouldn’t want it any other way. His energy and enthusiasm for life is infectious. We could not have been matched with a more suitable child.
As an Adoption Service in England, we are required to produce a written Statement of Purpose each year which sets out details of our services and how we will meet our commitment to providing high-quality care and support for our children, young people, and adopters.
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Covering the whole of the county, this peer support group often meet for picnics, walks and cake! They also run activities for children and young people. Previous activities have included forest school, archery, climbing and kayaking. LAFS also offers virtual support and information to members and has a large, supportive and secure social media group. If you’d like to get involved simply send an email to lafsgroup@yahoo.com mentioning the name of your Social Worker.
We run a series of events for our adopters and their families giving them a unique opportunity to create friendships and networks with other families.
Join us on one of our Walk and Talk sessions
To book your place on one of these free sessions, simply call 0116 4544540 or please send us an email.
