Reflections from the Adoption Conference 2026
Over 120 delegates gathered at Coram Campus on 11 May 2026 for the annual CoramBAAF #adoption conference, which, as the Chair of CoramBAAF’s ‘Adoption Advisory Committee’ I had the pleasure of chairing. It was unsurprising that so many colleagues were inspired to join us in person because of the engaging agenda, as well as the range of expert and diverse speakers.
Whilst adoption may no longer feel like a priority for any of the UK government administrations, it is continually in the spotlight, because in 2026, 100 years on from the first Adoption of Children Act (England & Wales), we have a ‘shortage’ of adopters, an adoption support crisis and a recent ruling on the legalities of adoption from the Supreme Court. So, the theme for the day, Can modern adoption meet the needs of today’s children & families? was an appropriate one.
In my opening address I also asked delegates whether in 2026 we should still support a system that replaces children’s birth identity and birth certificates by retrospectively applying an adoption order to their date of birth, no matter what their age at adoption. This question segued neatly into our keynote address from Hon Dame Mrs Justice Judd DBE, who came to share what has been happening behind the scenes since the publication of the Public Law Working Group Adoption Sub-Group report, Recommendations for Best Practice in Respect of Adoption. As someone who is immersed in the legal and social justice complexities of adoption, this for me was the highlight of the day and Justice Judd delivered a thoughtful, challenging and caring overview of what the future of adoption, both domestic and intercountry, might look like and why adoptee rights as well as their needs, are fundamental to any changes we make. For me this epitomised a concept of adoption which is far more than just modern adoption, which can often be focussed on just practice. This was something reaching into the core being of every adoptee and conceptualising a new legal framework to support their identity, not just replace it.
A presentation from Professor Julie Selwyn and Dr Sarah Hamilton on the Family Routes longitudinal study followed and it was fascinating to see not only the emerging data on the challenges that adopted children and young people continue to face, but also the generally high level of stability that adoption still appears to provide when compared with other forms of permanence. A connection between the introduction of the Adoption Support Fund (as it was then, now ASGSF) and placement stability was clear from the data and left me wanting to hear more about this, especially given the recent consultation on adoption support reform from the Department for Education in England. Building on this theme, Emily Frith presented highlights from the most recent data collection for Adoption UK’s Barometer 2026 which was already showing a negative impact of last year’s ASGSF cuts. I was particularly pleased to see the proposal for a formulation-led approach for assessment of need and delivery of support that Adoption UK have developed, because we know it is vital that not only is adequate and informed support available, but that it is tailored to the specific needs of each child.
To illustrate this further, CoramBAAF’s Adoption Consultant Jane Poore convened a Q&A session with an expert panel consisting of Euan Preston - Chair of the POTATO Group, Julia Whitehouse - adoptee, Clare Solomons - Campaign Organiser, Action Against ASGSF Changes (now atSTAKE), and Dr Julie Elliott - Clinical Director, Adoption UK. This was a deeply thought provoking and at times emotional discussion because it simply highlighted that lifelong adoption support is not something that we should need to ask for. It should just exist, if modern adoption is truly about meeting the needs of our most vulnerable children. Julia's reflections of her therapy at Family Futures and the deep impact of this as an adoptee hit very hard.
The day hugely benefited from workshops on issues that preoccupy adoption agencies across the UK: Health services and adoption - challenges and solutions; Recruitment - learning from what works; What do we do when they get to 18? Post commencement and the failure of life-long services; and Working with birth families and birth mums. The feedback from delegates on these demonstrated how important it was for there to be an opportunity to be in smaller groups during this conference and share best practice. To build on this further the conference benefited from Reflections on the National Recruitment Strategy and experiences of Black adopters from Charmaine Miller, Programme Lead, Black Adoption Project. I was struck with the opening comments from Charmaine as she reflected on what has changed in our work with Black communities in the 30 years since she began her career in this sector and whilst we may have more Black families being recruited now, this has not been reflected in the numbers of Black children actually being matched with them. So, the question remains. Why? For context this is happening at the same time as almost all intercountry adoptions into the UK are to Black/Global Majority families. Of course, as one of the few Global Majority leaders in our sector I find these facts deeply troubling, and no, more transracial adoptions are not the solution to this problem.
Our day ended with a debate on adoption panels and the question, should we keep adoption panels as part of the adoption process? The expert contributors were Adam Walters, Agency Decision Maker and Dr Arlene Weekes, freelance trainer, service manager, and senior lecturer at University of West London. They both work closely with panels and did a fantastic job in five minutes each to present deeply provocative but real arguments for and against panels. I know how I voted before and after and whilst the majority view from delegates was that panels need to stay, this is not the general trend the ‘real’ debate is following so we shall watch this space.
In my closing remarks I referred back to our theme and concluded that whilst there is lots of good practice, great outcomes and fantastic adopters out there, on balance, modern adoption is not meeting the needs of today’s children and families because support is too patchy, slow and sometimes non-existent. The State is responsible for children who need adoption and so it needs to step up and deliver what they truly deserve, because the level of need that exists in our children and young people who are adopted has gone over the tipping point. If we cannot support them, robustly and for life, legal frameworks of adoption aside, I personally, question whether it is any longer ethical to continue to create new families through adoption.