Post Adoption Counselling and Tracing
Our services
We provide information, support and counselling to all those involved in adoption via this Society:
adult adopters, adoptive families and birth relatives. In addition, we have records
of children who were cared for in the Nazareth Houses in Bristol and Cheltenham. We
provide information, support and counselling to adults who were cared for in either of these Nazareth Houses and birth relatives
whose children were placed here.
Our post adoption service is provided by qualified social workers and we also have links with post adoption support
groups.
How much will these services cost?
There is no charge for
any of the services outlined. However, where birth, marriage or death certificates are purchased on your behalf in the course
of tracing, you will be asked to reimburse the Society when possible.
How long will the process take?
There may be some
delay before you are offered an appointment depending on the volume of demand for all of these services.
How We Can Help
If you want to
find out more, please telephone our office in Clifton: 0117 – 973 –
4253 and ask to speak to one of the adoption social workers.
If one of the categories below applies to you, click on it to
find out more about the services we can offer you.
Services for Adopted People
Starting the Search
If you are adopted and wish to know more about your origins, the law gives you certain rights.
Adopted people who
have reached their eighteenth birthday may apply to the Registrar General for access to their birth records at the following
address:
Office
for National Statistics
General Register Office (Adoptions Section)
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Birkdale
Southport
PR8 2HH
If you
were adopted before the 12th November 1975, you are required to see a Counsellor before having access to your original birth
record.
If you
were adopted on or after 12th November 1975 you may choose whether or not to see a Counsellor. However, we know from experience
that finding out about your birth family and perhaps wishing to trace them is a complex process and we offer counselling and
support concerning the emotional and practical issues which can arise.
You
will be given advice by the General Register Office about counselling services and you will be given the choice of receiving
your counselling from one of the following:
· The Family Records Centre
in London
· The Local
Authority where you live now
· The Local
Authority for the area where your Adoption Order was granted
·
The Adoption agency which arranged your adoption
You will also receive
information from the General Register Office or from this Society about the Adoption Contact Register through which adopted
people and their birth families can register their wish to have contact with each other.
What will happen if I contact
the Society
If you
were adopted through the Catholic Children's Society (Diocese of Clifton) you may apply to the Society for access to your
adoption records either via the General Register Office or directly to us.
Your
application should be in writing and we shall require the following information.
·
Your name now
· Your name on adoption (if different from
your current name)
· Your original
birth name (if you know it)
· Your date
of birth
·
Your address and telephone number
Your application
will be acknowledged and you will be placed on the waiting list for an appointment with a Counsellor. We will advise you about
the estimated waiting time. Sometimes there may be a delay when there is a very
heavy demand for Post Adoption Services.
Next Steps
Your
meeting with the Counsellor will usually take place at our offices at 58 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol, but if you are unable
to travel to Bristol, it may be possible for your counselling to be undertaken by your local Diocesan agency for children
and families, or by your Local Authority and we will copy your records to them.
The
counselling session gives you the opportunity to talk about your adoption and your wishes in seeking information about your
origins. The Counsellor will also help you to consider the possible effects of any enquiries you may decide to make in order
to locate your birth family. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity, passport, utility bills etc.
Adoption
records are confidential, but we will share with you as much information as we can about yourself and your birth family without
breaking the confidentiality of a third party, whose consent may be required before we can share their papers.
You
may bring someone with you, a partner, adoptive parent or friend if you wish.
If,
after you have learned of your background you decide you wish to trace your birth relatives, your Counsellor will offer help
and advice on how to do this and can act as an intermediary if anyone is located.
Telephone
us at our office : 0117 – 973 – 4253
Services for Birth Relatives
The
Society offers support and advice to birth relatives who have previously been parted from a child through adoption.
