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The Organisation, Mission and
Values
Adoption Today
- About 3000 children are adopted each
year in the UK.
- PAC supported 1,850 individuals and
families affected by adoption in 2004.
- One in four people in the UK knows
someone with a link to the adoption process.
The Organisation
- The Post-Adoption Centre (PAC) was
founded in 1986 in response to changes in institutional
and social attitudes to adoption. Legislation permitting
adopted adults to trace their birth parents acted as a
catalyst for greater societal and professional awareness
about the life-long grief, trauma and guilt experienced
by all parties in the adoption process. It provides
counselling and therapeutic support to all parties in the
adoption process - namely birth mothers, adopted children
and adoptive parents - and to professionals working with
them.
- PAC has pioneered post-adoption
services in England and contributed to the establishment
of other post-adoption agencies.
- PAC is a leader in its field and has
advised Government on legislation and other social policy
measures concerning adoption.
- PAC’s seventeen professional
staff consists of full and part-time employed and
freelance counsellors, therapists and social workers. It
also employs seven administrative staff and manages
volunteer and trainee counsellors.
- PAC has a mixed funding stream,
which includes grants from Trusts, Foundations and
Government programmes, individual donations and fees from
contracts.
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Vision
To be a centre of excellence in the provision of
psychotherapeutic services to adopted adults, adopted
children and their families and counselling to birth
parents.
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Mission and Methods
- PAC provides comprehensive,
life-long advice, information and counselling service to
anyone involved in adoption and therapeutic services to
adopted children and adoptive parents.
- PAC offers help through its
Telephone Adviceline, and the Contact and Mediation,
Child and Family, and Training Teams.
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Special Concern for Disadvantaged
Groups
PAC provides services for all people regardless of race,
ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation or religion.
Within this frame of reference PAC is especially concerned
that its services are accessible and available to black and
minority ethnic adopted children and adoptive families.
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Why PAC is unique
- PAC was the first organisation of
its type in the UK.
- PAC continues to develop services
in response to new needs and to innovate.
- Contact and Mediation Team
provides mediation between adoptive and birth parents
and, through the use of a Child Advocate, represents
the wishes and feelings of the child about contact.
This remains a unique service.
- PAC is the only agency in the UK
to provide an ethnically sensitive therapeutic service
to black and minority ethnic children and
families.
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