Historic forced adoption: information and support
Published 2 July 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/historic-forced-adoption-information-and-support/historic-forced-adoption-information-and-support
Historic forced adoption
Many women were coerced or misled into having their children taken for adoption, particularly between 1949 and 1976.
The Prime Minister has issued an apology on behalf of the UK Government recognising the role of the state and some public institutions in these practices in England, and the lasting harm caused to mothers, adopted people, and families.
Listening services
Speak to someone about any issues around forced adoption.
FamilyConnect
FamilyConnect offers confidential support, including counselling, record tracing, and help with reunification.
Telephone: 0300 1800 205
Opening times: Monday 3pm to 6pm, Tuesday 11am to 2pm and Thursday 1pm to 7pm
Samaritans
You can call Samaritans free from any phone if you are in emotional distress.
Telephone: 116 123
Welsh language: 0808 164 0123
Opening times: Available across the whole of the UK 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
GP
Speak to your GP for help accessing further support.
Help finding your adoption records
There are several services that can help you trace your records:
- FamilyConnect provides a national intermediary service to help locate records and support contact, where appropriate
- CoramBAAF is developing a central resource to improve access to record-holding organisations. While this is in development, help to find records can be found at Adoption Search Reunion
If you know which organisation holds your records (such as a local authority or agency), you can contact them directly.
Missing records
In some cases records may have been lost or destroyed.
To prevent this in the future, we are consulting on increasing the retention period for adoption records so that existing adoption records will be kept for up to 100 years.
Help from NHS services
Contact your GP if you need help.
We are working with partners across NHS England services to improve support, including:
- mental health support: your GP can refer you to NHS talking therapies or specialist services where appropriate
- better awareness in healthcare: information will be shared with GP practices to improve understanding of the needs of people affected by historic adoption practices