Four in 10 adoptive families say they are facing severe challenges or are at crisis point as the Adoption Barometer 2026 calls for a legal right to lifelong, needs-led support.

A major new report from Adoption UK has revealed that too many families are still being left without the support they need once adoptions are made, and adult adoptees continue to be overlooked by policymakers. This is despite governments in all four nations acknowledging the lifelong impact of adoption.

The Adoption Barometer (2026), published today, found that four in 10 adoptive families across the UK say they are currently facing severe challenges or are at crisis point and more families across England, Northern Ireland and Wales are less optimistic about their future than ever before.

Based on responses from almost 3,500 adopters and adoptees across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the annual survey paints a picture of an adoption system that works well in the early stages, but too often struggles to sustain families over the long term.

In response to the research published today, Emily Frith, CEO of Adoption UK said: “This data shows that far too many adoptive families are reaching crisis point because they are not getting the support they need. Governments across all four nations have committed to lifelong support for adoptees, yet this research reveals a stark gap between promise and reality.

“Support too often falls away during adolescence and adulthood, with devastating consequences. Adoption UK is calling on governments across the UK to introduce a duty to provide needs-led support, ensuring adoptees can access the help they need, when they need it.”

The report found that satisfaction with the adoption approvals process remains high across the UK, with 88% of new adoptive parents saying their social worker understood and supported them during the approvals process. However, challenges frequently increase as children grow older and families seek ongoing support.

Most concerningly, across England and Northern Ireland families with the highest support needs were less likely to be offered enhanced support than ever before. Across the UK, 41% of these families said they were offered only generic support or signposting to other services, while 44% did not agree that the support they received had a positive impact on their family.

In England, the report warns that cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) early in 2025 negatively affected more than half of families’ access to vital therapeutic support. Alarmingly, the evidence shows those worst affected are families with the highest level of need.

The findings raise significant concerns about outcomes for adopted teenagers and young adults. Nearly two thirds (63%) of adopted 16–25-year-olds said they struggled at school and found the experience negative overall, while 29% were not in education, employment or training – more than double the national rate in most UK nations.

Experiences of mental health support were particularly poor. Among adopted young people aged 16–25 who had accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), more than three quarters said CAMHS had not made a positive difference. Most reported that CAMHS didn’t understand how being adopted affected them.

The report findings also highlight the continued lack of support measures for adult adoptees, resulting in ongoing challenges accessing records, tracing birth relatives and securing appropriate mental health support. Around a quarter of adult adoptees said they could access a suitable range of adoptee-competent mental health services, while two-thirds said the financial costs of tracing birth relatives were a barrier to reconnecting with family members.

As well as a package of support measures for adult adoptees, Adoption UK is calling for adoptee reference forums in each of the UK nations, for adoptees of all ages to work with policymakers on policies that affect them.

The Adoption Barometer 2026 is available to read online at: https://www.adoptionuk.org/barometer-2026