Support Making connections Through our Helpline, online forums, Support Groups, and other special social and training events we can help you build links with other adoptive families, both in your area and elsewhere in the UK. Talking about your experiences, concerns or problems with other parents who truly understand your situation can make a huge difference. Access specialist support Whether you are a prospective adopter with a query about the approval process or an adoptive parent who is worried about your child’s behaviour, our Helpline Advisers are your first point of call for information and resources. Our Family Support Service can be accessed by just one phone call. It supports prospective adopters and adoptive parents. It has three levels of support and is available to both members and non-members. Find out more about our Helpline Support Groups Run by a team of Volunteer Coordinators, you'll find our support groups across the UK. Groups are friendly and welcoming, open to all of our UK members, whether you adopted ten years ago, or are in the process now. Each group is unique, offering opportunities to meet, share support and build friendships with other adopters in your area. The Movement for an Adoption Apology In the 1950s, 60s and 70s hundreds of women were forced to give up their babies for adoption because they were unmarried. Some of those women started a campaign for a government apology: The Movement for an Adoption Apology. The campaign is gathering pace, and provides a growing community for those affected by this historical injustice. Adoption UK believes that a government apology is the right thing to do, for the women and for the children they lost. Thankfully, adoption has changed radically since the 1970s. Today, adoption is rightly a last resort. The average age of adoption in England is three years. This is because children are only placed for adoption after intensive efforts to support birth families in order to try and keep them together. Where that fails, and where it isn’t safe to leave children in their birth family, adoption offers them safety, stability and the chance to thrive.