Northern Ireland

This page provides information about adoption in Northern Ireland, and the support Adoption UK can provide to the country's adopters and prospective adopters, through a dedicated office, based in Belfast.

For residents of Northern Ireland interested in adoption, the first step is to contact an approved adoption agency. These are the five Health and Social Care Trusts and three voluntary bodies. From initial enquiry to approval by the Adoption Panel can take 18 months to two years. Contact your local authority through our Find an Agency tool.

As well as accessing all of Adoption UK’s standard support services – our magazines, Online Community and PAL, members in Northern Ireland can access the following:

support groups run by experienced adoptive parents
a dedicated helpline
staff dedicated to coordinating training and support in Northern Ireland
training and seminars for parents
an Advisory Group for Northern Ireland, to discuss adoption policy and practice

Dedicated Helpline

The Adoption UK Helpline for Northern Ireland is open:

Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm 028 9077 5211 (calls charged at standard UK rates)

Wednesday evening 8pm to 10pm 0844 8487900 (calls charged at 3p per minute)

Support groups

We currently run support groups in the following areas:

Antrim
Bangor
Belfast
Coleraine
Enniskillen/Omagh
Foyle
Moy
Newry

Groups are run by Volunteer Coordinators - adoptive parents who give their time to hold meetings and provide advice, encouragement and support to adopters and prospective adopters.

For details on group meetings, visit the Members’ Area of the Online Community or contact the Northern Ireland office.

Training and support

Adoption UK runs a range of popular training workshops, on issues from Understanding the Needs of the Child at Placement, to Parenting Adopted Teenagers and School and Education Issues.

Adoption UK’s acclaimed six-day training programme ‘It’s a Piece of Cake’ also runs regularly.

Details of up and coming workshops and will appear here and in the Training section of the site.

To find out about workshops running in your area of Northern Ireland contact Adoption UK's Trainer Coordinator Sheila Lavery.

Advisory Group

Adoption UK in Northern Ireland is represented by the Northern Ireland Advisory Group, a group of adoptive parents and practitioners with local knowledge who provide advice on adoption policy and practise issues.

Their advice is used both to develop Adoption UK’s services for adopters and prospective adopters, and to respond to government.

Post adoption services

Each Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland should have a clear post adoption strategy for working with and supporting adoptive families. For a list of what the post adoption service includes download the factsheet below:

Post Adoption Services in Northern Ireland