It’s time to tell the Prime Minister that it’s Time to Deliver on letterbox contact

Women supported by Pause have written an open letter to the Prime Minister telling him that it’s #TimeToDeliver on letterbox contact: https://action.pause.org.uk/TimetodeliverPM/

Over 100 people have already signed the letter, including PAC-UK, the UK’s largest independent adoption support agency, Family Action, One25, women who have had children removed from their care, professionals and representatives from other national charities.

The letterbox contact system between adopted children and their birth families is outdated, complicated and prioritises administration over building relationships. It is a system that is not delivering.  Since Pause’s Time to Deliver campaign was launched in September, over 250 people have emailed their MP calling for changes to the letterbox contact system.

Pause has now launched this open letter directly to the Prime Minister. The letter is from women supported by Pause. It was written by members of the Pause Advisory Group, a group of Pause graduates from across the UK. The letter says: 

“For many women like us who have children who have been adopted, letterbox contact is the only connection we have with our children. This is also the only opportunity adoptive parents have to build a relationship with us and other family members.

Letterbox contact is important for our children to understand their identity and to know that we love and miss them. Receiving letters can be difficult for us because it is a painful reminder of what we miss out on, but we love receiving our letters and are happy to know how our children are developing into their individual selves.

Despite this, there are lots of things that can be challenging with letterbox contact.”

The open letter echoes Pause’s recommendations for change, as outlined in the recent Time to Deliver report:

1. Increased support for birth parents and adoptive families post-adoption, to enable them to take part in letterbox contact
2. Letterbox contact arrangements to be reviewed after a specific amount of time
3. Investigation into digitally mediated post-adoption letterbox contact
4. A dedicated letterbox coordinator or team in all local areas, to support birth and adoptive families 

1. Clear and regular communication to children, birth parents, adoptive parents and other carers, to understand the letterbox process.