Post-adoption support FAQs
Find answers to common queries that adoptive parents, birth parents and relatives or those who have been adopted may have about post-adoption support.
Adoptive parent queries
Can my child access his/her birth records?
Adopted adults and children over 18 can access this service. If your child wants access to their birth records and is under 18 and over 15, you’ll need to ask for a post adoption assessment of need.
Please be aware that we (Leicester City Council) do not provide intermediary services if you are trying to trace birth relatives. We can however signpost you to appropriate outside agencies.
Do we have to keep birth parents informed of a child’s progress?
Once an Adoption Order has been made, birth parents have no legal rights over the child. However, arrangements are made for birth parents to have news of their child via our Post Box Service. This is a formal agreement between the birth family and adoptive family, to exchange information about the child. Adoptive parents are asked to write to birth parents each year. Exchange of information is beneficial to all parties.
As part of this service we offer:
- Advice and guidance around writing letters
- Advice with general queries relating to post box and contact issues
- Support to birth parents when they receive communication from adopters
Post Box is now a phone and postal service.
You can call, text, e-mail for support or make an appointment to meet at the Customer Services Centre on Granby Street in Leicester, using the following contact details:
- Ring us on: 0116 454 4540
- Text: 07967 347 043
- E-mail: Postbox@leicester.gov.uk
- Write to us at: Post Box Enquiries, Fostering and Adoption Centre, Halford House, 91 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1HL
Will the child still see their birth parents/relatives after adoption?
There may be some direct (face to face) contact arrangements between some children and their birth relatives. More and more children are benefiting from continuing to have direct contact with some members of their birth family. It will depend on the child, but this could be a birth parent, foster carer who has looked after them for a long time, brothers or sisters, grandparents or other relatives. Our team offers support and facilitation of this.
Do you offer support to relatives once a child is adopted?
If you are related to an individual who is adopted, and you have a query then please do give us a call using the number at the bottom of this page. We will be happy to help if we can.
Birth parents and relative queries
I am the birth parent, what support can I get?
As part of the adoption process we will provide up to six sessions of face to face support to birth parents whose children have been removed and placed for adoption by the local authority.
You can get in touch with us using the contact details below.
Adopted adults or people affected by adoption
Please note, we (Leicester City Council) do not provide an intermediary or tracing service. Please call us for information about local intermediary services or alternatively please check online for the contact details of local services available.
If you wish to access your adoption records:
You always need to make contact with the Local Authority where you live to access your records, even if you know you were adopted from Leicester.
At one time, we were joined with Leicestershire County Council. Now, we are separate, but this means both councils hold historic and modern adoption records depending on different time periods. It’s worth knowing that:
- up until 1975 Leicester hold the adoption records
- 1975-1997 Leicestershire County Council hold adoption records (call: 0116 305 3051)
- 1997-date adoption records are held by us (provided it was Leicester where the Adoption Order was made).
Contact us
Write to us: Fostering and Adoption Centre, Halford House, 91 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1HL
Ring us on: 0116 454 4540 - Social worker available 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday.
Send us a message