The next Spotlight On feature is Adoption counts who were one of the first Regional Adoption Agencies (RAA).

Adoption counts

Who we are

Adoption Counts is a RAA, bringing the professional expertise and specialist skills of five Local Authorities from across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, together to deliver adoption services of the highest quality. We started working as Adoption Counts in July 2017, the second RAA to go live in England.

We work with families in Cheshire East, Manchester, Salford, Stockport, and Trafford. The scale of our organisation means that we’re able to forge better matches between parents and children, to create relationships that last. We welcome enquiries from in or around the region.

Children and families are our sole focus and our team is passionate about giving the very best care and support at every stage of the adoption journey, to achieve the best outcome both for adoptive parents and for children.

Adopting a child is a transformative and exciting experience, but we understand that it can be daunting at times. Rest assured, we will be by your side through everything, guiding you through the process from the moment you enquire to the day your child joins your family and beyond. Our experienced team has a breadth of skills and knowledge to support and help you with anything you need.

Our services

During the adoption process, the services we offer include regular home visits from your own personal social worker who will be allocated to you for the duration of your adoption journey, to provide one to one support at every stage. We also provide up-to-date information about any child we are considering matching you with. This may include details on the child’s development, academic progress, health, routines, likes and dislikes, personality traits and the child and birth family background.

Adoption Counts
Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

At Adoption Counts, we are also firmly believe in offering support to adoptive families throughout the process and beyond, as ongoing and specialist support when needed. That is why we provide a wide and extensive range of adoption support services for adopters and their children.

Our services include:

  • Support Before a child is placed with adopters
  • Support After children are placed with adopters
  • Support After the Adoption Order

Support after adoption

In designing our support system to adopters, we have worked closely with adopters themselves to identify what would help the most. We have identified three key levels of support based on the I-Thrive model of care.

  • Universal – Getting advice
  • Targeted – Getting help
  • Specialist – Getting more help

Dividing services up in this way helps us to identify the right service to meet your needs. You do not have to access the universal services before being able to get services from the targeted group, but often accessing universal services early on can prevent the need for services at the targeted and specialist levels.

Adoptive families are able to request an adoption support assessment at any time and access our range of targeted and specialist support groups. These include therapeutic parenting and children’s playgroups, amongst others. We also offer workshops. These cover a range of topics such as attachment and brain development, working with schools and parenting in the digital world.

We can also support you on a one to one basis and give you access to additional therapy through the Adoption Support Fund if we decide, collectively, that it’s the right option for your family.

Adoption Counts: Support every step of the way

At Adoption Counts, we understand that adoption is life changing. That’s why we’re here for you, every step of the way. From the first phone call, our dedicated team will be there to support and guide you through the adoption process with compassion, honesty and respect.

Hopes, fears, needs – both yours and theirs – we are here to listen intently and respond sensitively to them all. Adoption is a big decision, but it could be the best you ever make.

You can contact us via our website or by phoning 0161 521 8720.

Adoption counts
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

To find out about other adoption agencies, head to the “Spotlight On” section.

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