Adoption Barometer 2026: established adoptive families (Northern Ireland) The rise in the proportion of adoptive families describing their status as ‘facing severe challenges or at crisis point’ over the past several years seems to have levelled off, with 38% reporting this status in 2025 compared to 39% in 2024, and 3% reporting a child leaving the family home prematurely, representing a return to 2021 levels after three years of increases. Statement UK wide Northern Ireland I am satisfied with the quality of the core adoption support I have accessed via my adoption agency. 68% 50% Families with significant or urgent needs are provided with a package of enhanced adoption support. 59% 27% I am satisfied with the quality of the enhanced adoption support I received via my adoption agency. 53% 32% My agency manages arrangements for direct and indirect contact effectively. 59% 56% My child’s school works with me to find the best ways to support my child. 73% 60% My child’s teachers have a good understanding of the needs of care-experienced and adopted children. 52% 10% What is going well? “There is more awareness of developmental trauma and more access to podcasts and training for families.” “Connection with other adopters and peer support. Signposting to relevant services.” “Having access to the psychologist has been really helpful in times of need.” What could be improved? “There needs to be a better understanding of how early life experiences have a significant impact on the whole life that doesn’t end because a child is adopted. This misconception seems to be the norm in society and the education system.” “I would like post adoption teams to pro-actively get in touch with adoptive parents and make sure they have the team’s contact details if they need them.” “Multi-disciplinary pathways of support for families experiencing violent and aggressive behaviour driven by trauma.” Adoption Support Families are struggling to access tailored, enhanced adoption support services – only 27% of those who asked for help with the highest levels of need were offered specialist support, and levels of satisfaction with the range, quality and impact of support are low. “It’s very unclear what is available in terms of post adoption support for adopters and adoptees.” Keeping in Contact with Birth Relatives “The general support received is good, but it could be a lot better, especially when navigating contact.” Among respondents who had ever agreed to letterbox-style indirect contact with a birth relative, fewer than half of these arrangements remained active at the time of completing the survey, except for arrangements with birth siblings, where 56% remained active. Adopters in Northern Ireland continue to maintain much higher levels of direct contact than in the rest of the UK. In 2025, 19% of children represented by survey respondents had direct contact with their birth mother (mostly informal) and 25% of children who had siblings living elsewhere had direct contact with them. Education “I would like not to have to fight for every single thing my children need, especially from an education sector that is not resourced effectively and therefore not capable of meeting their needs.” “There should be an assessment of special educational needs for each adopted child with cooperation from the education authority which would continue with the child throughout their entire education. This would also include meaningful training of school staff and, in particular, support assistants at school.” Back to Northern Ireland overview Manage Cookie Preferences