Locating your adoption records just got simpler with FamilyConnect

9 February 2022

In the last few weeks, it was announced that the holders of the Locating Records Database (LRD), CoramBAAF have opened it up so it’s accessible to members of the public, researchers and adoption agencies. Here Family Action collaborator, author and expert Julia Feast applauds the decision and explains why.

It was so great to hear the announcement that the Locating Records Database (LRD) is accessible again to members of the public, researchers, and adoption agencies and that CoramBAAF is committed to updating it.

For those of you who don’t know much about the database, it is a really helpful resource – particularly for adopted people who are trying to locate where the records relating to their adoption may be held. The database can be searched using historic information about a home (maternity, mother & baby, shelter etc.), organisation or local authority involved in a birth or adoption, or even information about a staff member who worked in one of these homes or organisations.

While not fully up to date, the database is invaluable and can really help those who want to embark upon their search journey by locating information about their adoption.

The Family Connect database is invaluable and can really help those who want to embark upon their search journey by locating information about their adoption.

Julia Feast, Family Action collaborator, author and expert

The results show the most likely current holder of their adoption records and include full contact details so that further enquiries can be made.  As you can tell I’m extremely enthusiastic about the database, so let me give you a little bit of history.

The LRD was based upon the early work of the late Georgie Stafford, who was a pioneer in collecting information about where adoption records are held and by which agencies.

As you can imagine this information was an absolute treasure for professionals working with adopted adults who were trying to find out information about their origins and family background and led to the development of the formal database in 2005. Thanks to Georgie’s work we have a resource that’s still valuable today – perhaps even more so in these difficult times while services and resources are being cut for adopted adults and their birth relatives.

I’m pleased that Family Action has bucked this trend by establishing the Family Connect website in recent years and we know from the high number of visits and the positive feedback it’s received that it too is a valued and much-needed resource.

The partnership between Family Action and UCL’s MIRRA has produced a dedicated and committed team that I hope will continue to review and identify further areas of development to improve the lives of those who have been affected by adoption and care, and have as profound and lasting an impact as Georgie’s work has had.

One final thought… As someone who has also worked with people who have been brought up in care, it would be wonderful if we were somehow able to create a locating records database for care-experienced people too. Here’s hoping that this is something we can explore in the years to come.

 

To find out more about accessing your records you can visit the adopted section of our Family Connect website. Family Action’s adoption support agency PAC-UK offers specialist advice and support to all parties affected by adoption and permanency.