Who are we?
We are the UK’s leading membership organisation for professionals working across adoption, fostering and kinship care. We provide information, best practice guidance, advice, training and resources to support our members and influence policy to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Our corporate members in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland represent 94% of all local authorities as well as regional adoption agencies, health and social care trusts, independent fostering providers and voluntary adoption agencies, and cover 88% of all children and family social workers.
Our 650+ individual and associate members - comprising lawyers, health professionals, educational institutions, therapeutic and family support services, and more - reflect the multidisciplinary nature of our work.
Together, our members make up the largest network of organisations and individuals involved with children in their journey through the care system.
We are a publisher
We provide the largest selection of books for social workers and children’s social care professionals. Our comprehensive range of publications offer up to date practice guidance and advice. We also publish the only quarterly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to adoption and fostering issues, Adoption & Fostering Journal.
We also produce judicially-compliant health and social work report forms for adoption, fostering, kinship care and other substitute care UK-wide.
We are a training provider
We reach more than 4,500 professionals through our annual programme of training, including open courses, conferences and webinars as well as commissioned training.
We are at the frontline of policy and practice reform
We are an evidence-based organisation with strong connections to the research community in both universities and the independent sector. We work to influence and inform policy and practice development by working with sector organisations, Government departments, policy groups and local and regional agencies.
We are a community
We run eight advisory committees and ten practice forums. This community supports our policy and practice development as well as providing a supportive place for members to meet to discuss practice.
We are an advice and information service
Our Advice Line service responds to over 200 queries every month. We provide expert practice advice, with input from of our team of specialist consultants, to support the work of our members. Our information service keeps our members up to date with the latest news and developments. The monthly CoramBAAF Digest gathers together information on UK legislation, policy, research, statistics and online resources for those working in adoption, fostering, kinship and child welfare.
We are Coram
We are part of the Coram Group. Our work enables us to better understand what works for children and young people, and communicate with those in a position to make a real difference. We use our insight and experience to engage with government, local authorities, social workers, teachers, carers and families to help deliver better practice, systems and laws.