Alexandra Harris

British Association for Adoption & Fostering

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) was founded in 1980 to help children who can no longer live with their birth families. BAAF recognises the fundamental importance parents and a family life can play in a child's development, and it is our mission to find stable, loving and permanent homes for these children. To realise this goal, BAAF supports the professional development needs of practitioners through education and training. All of our work is underpinned by a strong research and development programme, drawing on the major UK and international universities and research centres. We also campaign for improvements to the sector, and our history is marked by leading and forming policy for looked-after children. BAAF is proud to have been a major driver behind the changes to adoption and fostering policy delivered by the Children Act 1989, the Adoption and Children Act 2002, and more recently the Adoption Reform programme and long term fostering in England.