Our History

We adapt our services to meet YOUR needs during Covid-19

As the Covid-19 pandemic evolved in early 2020, we quickly adapted our processes to meet the needs of our families and service users. Adoption Matters has always primarily operated as a home working organisation, so we were able to quickly adapt ensuring that our work was conducted safely, adhering to the latest guidance using a mixture of online technology as well as some face-to-face meetings where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Our organisation remained 100% fully staffed throughout the whole pandemic, our administration staff were all deployed to work at home and we even expanding our support staff base to enable to continue to offer the high level of support needed to during this stressful and worrying time for us all. We remain, here for you.

Centre for Adoption Support

In late 2019, the Centre for Adoption Support ceased to be a partnership service moving back to the main support offering of Adoption Matters. The service continues to operate and develop a comprehensive range of adoption support services to our families and commissioned work with our Regional Adoption Agency and Local Authority colleagues.

2017 our 70th Year

In our 70th year and over 4,000 children placed for adoption. We continue to grow, innovate and offer high quality services to our children and families, operating across 6 regional offices. This year we place 76 children with their new adoptive families, a record for the charity.

Concurrent Planning Service launched

Adoption Matters forms a partnership with Caritas Care to offer a new approach to early permanence through the Concurrent Planning Service throughout the North West. In 2019, the service celebrated its 100th placement and is now the largest service of its kind in the country.

Foster carers the end of an era

Adoption Matters foster care service came to an end this year following changes in national funding structures. A farewell party and presentation event marked the end of the era and amongst those who attended were Ken and Dawn Lewis from Neston who fostered on behalf of the agency for 33 years!

Blackburn centralises services

Blackburn also centralised its services in the late seventies early eighties moved into placing children other than babies who were in the care of Local Authority Social Services Departments. In 1976, The Adoption Act required local authorities to provide their own adoption service and we then continued to work in partnership with several local authorities.

Chester Diocesan Adoption Agency formed

The Adoption of Children Act 1949 provided that placement of children for adoption would be supervised by local authorities. The Anglican Church has always taken its commitment to social responsibility very seriously – the Board for Social Responsibility dealt with adoption, homelessness, unemployment, social justice and more. Eventually Adoption became a smaller part of this.

In 1955 Chester Diocesan Adoption Service was formed.

Blackburn Diocesan Adoption Agency formed

The Adoption of Children Act 1949 provided that placement of children for adoption would be supervised by local authorities. The Anglican Church has always taken its commitment to social responsibility very seriously – the Board for Social Responsibility dealt with adoption, homelessness, unemployment, social justice and more. Eventually Adoption became a smaller part of this.

In 1947 Blackburn Diocesan Adoption Agency was formed.

Chester

Adoption Matters journey began in 1884 when the Duke of Westminster donated a piece of land to the Chester Diocese which was used to build on and in 1886 a building named the ‘Diocesan House of Mercy’ was opened on Lache Lane, Chester and used as a refuge for young women.