Transform Your Adoption Services
Originally developed for the Greater Manchester Adoption and Fostering Consortium, later to become Adoption 22, CHARMS exists only because Heather Graham, the consortium coordinator at the time (1999), was struggling to maintain, using a word processor, up-to-date lists of children and adopters. Heather and Jim, our Managing Directior and founder, saw the opportunity to take advantage of the database tools that were available. CHARMS is still owned by Social Care Network Solutions, a privately run non-profit organisation, and it is now used by 25 Voluntary Adoption Agencies (VAAs) and 8 Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs) to manage all aspects of the adoption journey.
Key Features for Adoption Services
Recruitment and Assessment Tracking
No need for a separate CRM or spreadsheet 'trackers', CHARMS manages the entire process. From initial enquiry, followup, initial home visit, application, assessment, and approval of prospective adopters CHARMS does it all.
Matching
The original 'Find a Family' and "Find a Child' algorithms, built in 1999, offer potential matches based on age, gender, religion, ethnic origin and other matching considerations. Potential matches and outcomes are recorded and can be reported upon.
Form Generator
The Prospective Adopter Report has always been a feature of CHARMS but 2025 sees the launch of the 'Comprehensive Form Builder' in CHARMS. Any asssessment, or other, form can be created in CHARMS.
Panel and Review Scheduling
Schedule and manage adoption panel meetings, review dates, and decision outcomes - in one place. Dedicated, secure panel member access means that no sensitive data is sent to anyone.
CHARMS Digital Letterbox 'Keeping In Touch'
The ground-breaking Digital Letterbox enables adopters and birth families to exchange 'letters', pictures, 'cards' and even short videos in an easy to use secure, mobile-ready environment.
Adoption Support
Access to birth records, birth records counselling, therapy support services, birth family support, signposting and all adoption support records are managed in one place.
Why Choose CHARMS for Adoption Services?
CHARMS is a single system that supports every aspect of adoption, from adopter recruitment to adoption support. All stakeholders have unique access to meet their needs - adopters, birth family members, adopted children, panel members social workers, support staff and managers. No-one, and nothing, are excluded.
Trusted Nations-wide
Used by adoption services across the UK with a proven track record of excellence.
Comprehensive Coverage
Complete case management from enquiry through to lifelong contact and support.
Security & Compliance
Built for security, compliance, and collaboration - with GDPR-compliant data protection.
User-Friendly Interface
Accessible across all devices with an intuitive interface designed for adoption professionals. Opendyslexic font can be applied throughout, voice to text and read aloud are available on all notes boxes.
Helpdesk in the UK
One helpdesk phone number, with no menu. Just get straight through to the dedicated, experienced team based in the UK.
Dedicated Training
Face-to-face training, or one-to-one on Teams, delivered by real humans (not AI).
Inspection Ready
Built-in reports for inspectors, including OFSTED.
OMG
Otherwise known as 'Online Mail Grabber', OMG is a huge time-saver. With one click you can save emails from Outlook/Gmail and others, with attachments, to the relevant case file. No more copy, paste, download, upload...
Built for Adoption Professionals
CHARMS has an intuitive user interface that is easy to use. You can customise most of the lookup lists, so the drop-down menus available suit your needs. The support team is very friendly and knowledgeable, and will go the extra mile to assist if you have problems. There's so much you can do and new features are being developed all the time in response to the needs of real world users.
Ready to Transform Your Adoption Services?
Explore how CHARMS can support your adoption service delivery and enhance outcomes for children and families.
Choose how you'd like to learn more:
Call 0161 237 1872 to discuss your needs