Adoption Barometer

Our 2021 Survey

Take part in our 2021 Barometer Survey. We need your responses to help contribute to a flagship report on Adoption in the UK, which will be published by Adoption UK this summer. 

Whether you are a prospective adopter, or many years along in your adoption journey, we want to hear your views. This is a thorough survey, so please take your time, and complete each section as fully as possible.

This survey is repeated every year so that we can build up a picture of how things are changing over time. Please focus only on your experiences during 2020. 

What is the Adoption Barometer?

The Adoption Barometer is the only comprehensive assessment of the lives of adoptive families  across the UK – and the policies that govern adoption. Now in its second year, the Barometer explores families’ experiences throughout the adoption journey, from prospective adopters to those whose children are now young adults. 

It’s based on the biggest ever survey of adopters – in 2020, nearly 5,000 people responded. 

What impact does it have? 

Since our 2019 report, we've seen progress - in England the extension of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) & the first experimental data collection on school exclusions, both recommendations from last year. In Wales there's been a £2.3m investment in adoption services. 

The report shows that adopters remain positive and resilient –73% would encourage others to adopt. But families are still struggling to get the support they need and deserve.  

One of the main themes to emerge from this year’s report is the failure in diagnosing and treating brain damage caused by children being exposed to alcohol in the womb. The report reveals that one-in-four adopted children are either diagnosed with, or suspected to have, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). 

You can read the full Adoption Barometer 2020 report, by clicking on the image above or if you prefer, you can download the 2020 Barometer Executive Summary.

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