30 Years of Action – A Brief History of CVAA

The world of adoption has seen some seismic shifts in the past 30 years, but there has been at least one constant: adoption has continued to provide, evidentially and unequivocally, a pathway to permanence and successful adulthood for some of the nation’s most
disadvantaged children.

Voluntary Adoption Agencies (VAAs) have a long history of championing children; of finding innovative means to achieve successful ends and of securing permanence and supporting families in the long term when the State has struggled. Their specialist perspective has supported ways of finding and using data to help the wider system focus on what is important. But, as events continue to remind us, they are
relatively small, vulnerable organisations.

CVAA was formed to harness collective wisdom and to present a consistent, value riven approach to what has become an increasingly fragmented statutory sector. It has contributed to the development and implementation of some of the most
successful system changes of the past 30 years; its members have been consistent in offering practical solutions to complex problems and have been endlessly willing to innovate and adapt in the interests of children and families.

To celebrate this long history of working to advocate for change across the adoption sector, Norman Goodwin CBE has brought together ‘A Short History of CVAA’ which lays out some of key milestones the organisation has achieved and the key people who made it happen.

You can download the full document here