Established in 1946, Yorkshire Adoption Agency works hard to support, assess, train, and approve adoptive parents.  We have good local partnerships and work with all agencies across the UK to make sure we match our adopters to the right children for them, wherever they live.

We are a voluntary adoption agency and a registered charity which means we are smaller and more flexible than most statutory agencies and offer a personalised service to adopters from all backgrounds.

The child’s voice is at the heart of everything we do and safeguarding children is one of our main priorities. We have a zero-tolerance approach to any harm or exploitation of children and adults.

Our vision is that children who need an adoptive home will grow up in a safe and loving home, will be happy, healthy and lead fulfilling lives. We work closely with other organisations and local authorities to support family finding for our families and the children waiting.

We are a welcoming organisation and our adopters say it’s great that we have a consistent and supportive staff team who always go the extra mile. We pride ourselves on offering a friendly and responsive service throughout the adoption journey.

What is a Voluntary Adoption Agency?

Voluntary Adoption Agency’s or VAAs are independent, not for profit organisations which are smaller than most local government agencies.  Yorkshire Adoption Agency is a South Yorkshire VAA and registered charity and began in 1946 to support Doncaster Council Social Services find homes for children who needed them following the end of WWII.

We now support families from South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, The Midlands, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and North East Lincolnshire to adopt.

Read more about the differences between VAAs and RAAs in this blog from the CVAA.

 The main strengths that VAAs offer are:

1. Lifelong adoption support for their adoptive families. We know that support is absolutely crucial for adoptive families and needs to be available for families to access at any time until a child turns 18, and sometimes beyond, without long waiting lists. We are a small organisation and specialise in adoption support so can be responsive to what families need, whenever they need it.
2. A family feel. Adopters often tell us this is why they chose to adopt with us. Again, being a small organisation means that adopters can form close relationships with the wider team and agency – not just their own social worker, benefitting from the support and expertise of the whole organisation.
3. Diversity and inclusivity. VAAs really get to know their local communities and are more likely to place children with adopters from a diverse range of backgrounds. 1 in 5 VAA adoptions are to LGBTQ+ adopters and 13% of VAA adoptions are to adopters from a minority ethnic/global majority group.
4. The ability to match adopters with children from across the UK, rather than just their local area. VAAs work in partnership with all regions of the country to help find homes for children. This can be especially helpful for those hoping to adopt a child with certain characteristics, such as a child who shares the same ethnicity and cultural heritage.

Al Coates and Casson-Rennie’s Adoption and Fostering Podcast covered the differences between Regional Adoption Agencies or RAAs and VAAs in a podcast. Listen here.