Connecting Adoptive Families Independent Service (CAFIS)
Connecting Adoptive Families Independent Service (CAFIS) is a unique service for those who live in the area supported through the Adoption Partnership South East.
Our services are for people who live in Kent Medway and Bexley who have been affected by adoption.
You may be:
- a birth relative or adopted person wishing to access information or make contact
- an adoptive parent
- a birth relative or adopted person wishing to review current staying in touch arrangements
We can provide support for you in several ways:
Advice and support for birth families
We know that adoption for birth parents and extended birth family members can be a very challenging time. Our team of specialists can provide advice and support if your child is looked after by Kent County Council, Medway Council, or the London Borough of Bexley if adoption has been identified as the next step for the child.
Access to birth records for adopted adults and birth relatives
We offer an independent advice and support service for adopted adults and birth relatives who live in Kent, Medway or the London Borough of Bexley who wish to access their adoption records, regardless of when or where they were adopted.
Intermediary Services
Adopted Adults
If you were adopted and decided to make contact with your birth family, our team of specialists can initiate contact on your behalf. Please note this service is only available to those living in Kent, Medway or the London Bourough of Bexley.
Birth Families
If you had a family member who was adopted before 1975, we can help make initial contact with that family member on your behalf. We can also support those adopted after 1975 but those adopted pre-1975 will have priority. Please call us to discuss your situation.
Staying in Touch Arrangements (Post Adoption)
This service is available to adopters, special guardians and birth families where post adoption or Special Guardianship Order staying in touch arrangements have been arranged or should have been arranged.
Following much research and working with stakeholders including adoptive parents, social workers, birth families, independent reviewing officers and CAFIS who have managed the service for over 20 years, we have created a menu of staying in touch arrangements to ensure that:
- arrangements are fully risk assessed;
- support is provided at a pace that increases the opportunities to develop a trusting working relationship between birth and adoptive families; and
- the changing developmental, emotional, and identity needs of the child are met.
This can include setting up staying in touch arrangements where this was not agreed/arranged at the point of adoption.
All staying in touch arrangements for children who were adopted through Kent County Council, Medway Council or the London Borough of Bexley are now reviewed after the first year and then bi-yearly, however if you have not had a review and would like one or you would like to look at this before the review date then please contact us.
Upcoming events
CAFIS is committed to supporting all those affected by adoption, whether personally or professionally, and will be offering a number of events throughout the year to share up-to-date information, discuss current research and changes, and offer support. These will include support groups for adoptive and birth families, seminars for birth and adoptive families, and networking events for professionals.
On 25 May 2023, we will be hosting an online event to discuss our support for birth families who have lost a child to adoption.
Contact us
- call us on 01795 532081
- email us at [email protected]
- write to us at Barnardo’s CAFI, Unit 10 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8GD
Please do call if we have not contacted you - there are many reviews taking place so it may take a little while to get back to you.
