Adopting

Barnet is part of the North London Adoption Consortium, working with Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington to improve our adopters' and children's opportunities in adoption.

Information chapters

To access a copy of the most recent adoption and fostering inspection report please go to www.csci.org.uk

Becoming an adopter

We need families for:

  • children who are of African, Caribbean, and of mixed heritage background
  • older children who have had an unsettled early life
  • brothers and sisters who need to be kept together
  • children with disabilities
  • children from a variety of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds to reflect the children's heritage.

For more information on how to become an adoptive parent please contact the Adoption Team - details in the contact box opposite.

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Adoption information evenings

This is an informal way to find out more about what's involved in adopting a child. These evenings are open to all, whether or not you are ready to take the next step.

  • next meeting: Thursday 20 November, between 6:30pm and 8:30pm.
  • venue: The Greek Cypriot Brotherhood Centre, Britannia Road, North Finchley, N12 9RU

Contact the Adoption Team to find out more - our details can be found in the menu on the left.

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Adoption support

Barnet recognises that adoption is a lifelong process which affects individuals and families through their life.

The adoption support service is part of the adoption team. The following people can seek support from the service:

  • adoptive parents
  • an adoptive child
  • the birth child of an adoptive parent
  • a birth parent or relative of an adopted child or any other person with whom the child has had an important relationship.

Adoption support is provided by the local authority who place the child for adoption up to three years after the Adoption Order. After this, it is the responsibility of the borough in which you live.

Adoption support can involve:

  • advice and counselling
  • assessments of support needs
  • direct work with individuals and families
  • workshops and training on specific issues
  • opportunities to meet other adoptive families
  • support with contact between adoptive families and birth families.

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Adopted adults

There are a variety of services available to people who have been adopted. Your first point of call can be the Barnet Adoption Team. If you have any questions or queries regarding adoption then contact us using the details in the menu on the left.

You can also contact the Post Adoption Centre, which has an outreach service based in Barnet.

There is also a website and advice line specifically for people under 26, who have been affected by adoption.

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Tracing your birth family

Once people who have been adopted reach 18 they are legally entitled to have access to their adoption file and trace their birth family. The first step is to get a copy of your original birth certificate, you can either contact us first to discuss this or go ahead and apply. The steps to apply for your birth certificate are set out below.

If you are under 18 and would like to trace your birth family, then you can still contact the adoption team and we will discuss your options with you and your family. To get a copy of your original birth certificate and access to your birth records you need to contact the General Register Office

Adoptions Section
General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Birkdale
Southport
PR8 2HH

When you contact the GRO you must state whether you were adopted before or after 12/11/75 – if you were adopted after 11 November 1975 then you will have the option of the information being sent to you directly or to an adoption worker.

If you were adopted before this date then the information will only be sent to an adoption agency, in other words, the Barnet Adoption Team. If you have opted for Information from the General Register Office to be sent to your local authority, we will contact you and invite you in to help get a copy of your birth certificate and answer any questions.

This can be called Section 51 Counselling. If you receive the information yourself then you can still contact us to support you with the next steps.Once you have your birth certificate a good way of finding out more about your birth family is by reading your adoption file.

You can contact Barnet adoption team to access your file if:

  • you know you were adopted through the London Borough of Barnet, regardless of where you are living now, or
  • you are an adopted person living in Barnet and do not know which agency was involved.

If you fall into one of these categories contact the Adoption Team on the details in the menu on the left. In order for us to help you it is really useful if you can give us as much information as possible so we can attempt to locate your file, this includes:

  • your full adopted name
  • your date of birth
  • your birth name
  • your birth mother's name  
  • when you were adopted
  • where you were adopted.

Once we have this information, or as much as you know the following can happen:

  • if we have your file in our archive we will go through the file and remove any third party information e.g. any information not directly about you. We will then contact you and invite you into our office to go through your file with you. We will be there to support you and answer any questions you may have about the adoption process and what you have read in your file
  • if we do not have your file then you will need to use one of the forms the General Register Office sent you when you applied for your birth certificate. This form will have the name of the court tin which your adoption took place in. By sending off this form the court may be able to tell you which agency has your file.
  • if you know which agency dealt with your adoption then we can contact them on your behalf and they will send us information from your file and we will go through it with you.

Having read your file if you still want to trace your birth family we will offer a intermediary service. If we do not have a current address for a member of your birth family then you will need to trace them. We are able to support you to do this and can also give you information on agencies that perform searches for a fee.

Agencies that perform searches for a fee

NORCAP – Supporting Adults Affected by Adoption

After Adoption

Head Office
12-14 Chapel Street
Manchester
M3 7NH

Another method of searching for your birth family is by registering yourself on the Adoption Contact Register, for more information go to www.gro.gov.uk. If you are successful in searching for your birth family, either by yourself or through an agency we will act as an intermediary and contact your birth family on your behalf.

We will ensure that no identifying information is passed on until you are comfortable, and also provide your birth family with information on where they can access support in their area.

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Children, young people and families

Online Services

Useful Links

Contact

Adoption Team
Barnet House
1255 High Road
Whetstone
N20 0EJ
Phone Number
020 8359 5705
Text Number (SMS)
07781 473279
Fax Number
020 8359 5749
Typetalk
18001 020 8359 5705
Email
adoption@barnet.gov.uk