Birth history
Many adopted people want to find out about their birth family history. If you are an adult over 18, we may be able to help you do this.
Individual counselling
You may find it helpful to talk to one of our workers about your particular situation and circumstances. We recognise that you may not find this easy and we will try to be sensitive to your wishes and feelings.
Everyone has an individual experience of adoption and has the choice of whether, how and when they wish to proceed in exploring their birth history.
You may want to talk to other adopted adults, and there is a bi-monthly support group run by the South East London Consortium of Adoption Agencies. We can provide you with more information about this.
Accessing adoption records
If Croydon Council holds your adoption records we can arrange for copies of them to be sent to you if you live in Croydon. If you live outside Croydon, we can send them to your post adoption worker, for him/her to share with you.
If you do not know which agencies might have been involved in your adoption, we advise you to apply for access to your records via the General Register Office - adoption section (see below for address) in the first instance. With the information provided by the Registrar General, your post adoption worker will be able to identify the adoption agency and/or Local Authority that was involved in your adoption.
Mediation service between you and your birth family
If you have made the decision that you would like to have some form of contact with a member of your birth family, we would strongly advise you to use an intermediary. It is a service we and some other adoption support agencies are able to provide.
Our experience has shown us that people often respond more positively to a third party approach.
Ongoing support during and after a reunion
Adoption searches and reunions are emotional roller-coasters for all concerned and outcomes are unpredictable. Support needs will vary from person to person. All parties may need support during and after the reunion, which we are able to provide.
If a birth relative wants to contact you
You may have been contacted unexpectedly by a post adoption worker on behalf of a birth relative who wants to make contact. If this is the case, you may wish to talk it through with someone and you are welcome to contact us to discuss the possible implications before deciding whether and how to respond.
Contact Details
- Contact name
- Fostering and Adoption Service
- Telephone
- Freephone 0800 389 0129
- Fax
- 020 8760 5665
- Address
- 4-06 Taberner House
Park Lane
Croydon CR9 2BA
- Contact name
- General Register Office - Adoptions Section
- Telephone
- 0151 471 4830
- adoptions@ons.gov.uk
- Address
- Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 2HH - Website
- www.gro.gov.uk
