Why adopt with a VAA
VAAs are incredibly diverse. Our members are based in urban centres and rural areas. Some are very small; some are very specialised; and some find families for over 100 children per year. Some of our members are a few years old, and some have been finding families for children for over a century. There are many important things, though, that you will find in any VAA.
Find your local VAA
Voluntary adoption agencies (VAAs) work in partnership with local authorities and regional adoption agencies across the whole of the UK to find families for children in care who are unable to stay with their birth relatives. They have a very long history of supporting families across the UK and over this time have set themselves apart from other agencies in a few ways:
- Providing lifelong adoption support for their adoptive families. VAAs know that support is absolutely crucial for adoptive families and needs to be available for families to access at any time until a child turns 18, and sometimes beyond, without long waiting lists. VAAs tend to be smaller and specialised in adoption support so can be flexible and responsive to what families need, whenever they need it. They are not limited by geography so can continue providing support when families move somewhere new. Support ranges from family days and peer support to therapeutic services and help with contact arrangements, for children, families and adopted adults.
- Exceptional services. All of our VAAs have been rated highly or very highly by their national inspectorates (Ofsted (England), the Care Inspectorate (Scotland), and the Care Inspectorate Wales). This makes it one of the most highly rated services for children. Inspection reports continually highlight the quality of relationships with families and excellent support which results in overwhelmingly positive feedback from adopters. VAAs are the only type of adoption agency which are fully inspected by an independent body.
- The ability to match adopters with children from across the UK, rather than just their local area. VAAs work in partnership with all regions of the country to help find homes for children. This can be especially helpful for those hoping to adopt a child with certain characteristics, such as a child who shares the same ethnicity and cultural heritage.
- Diversity and inclusivity. VAAs really get to know their local communities and are more likely to place children with adopters from a diverse range of backgrounds. Over a quarter of adopters VAAs approve are LGBTQ+ and almost a fifth of approved adopters are from and a minority ethnic/global majority group.
- A family feel.Adopters often tell us this is why they chose to adopt with a VAA. Again, the size of VAAs means that adopters can form close relationships with the wider team and agency – not just their own social worker.
- Finding families for children who tend to wait the longest. VAAs place around 20% of all children adopted each year in the UK and have expertise in finding families for children who have priority needs, including sibling groups, older children, children with additional needs and those from ethnic minority / global majority backgrounds.
VAAs are passionate about adopters having a choice about how they adopt, and whether to do this through a voluntary or statutory agency. This will be a personal decision for anyone thinking about adopting a child, involving weighing up the benefits and drawbacks of each option. VAAs are open to phone calls from people who want more information about adoption so please do contact them for a chat.