What Is the Belonging Network Website?

Updated

Belonging Network (belongingnetwork.com) is a British Columbia–based nonprofit that provides support, learning, and connection for adoptive and permanency families and for youth from government care. It is the organization formerly known as the Adoptive Families Association of BC, and it now operates under the Belonging Network name and brand. The site is most useful if you are in BC and are considering adoption, waiting to adopt, parenting through adoption, guardianship, kinship care, or Indigenous customary care, or are a young person transitioning out of government care.

Who it serves

The homepage organizes its audience into clear groups, which is a quick way to check whether the site is meant for you:

  • New caregivers
  • Youth in and from care
  • People considering adoption
  • Indigenous families
  • Waiting families
  • Relatives raising relatives
  • Adoptive families
  • Guardianship families

If you fall outside BC's adoption and permanency system, the site's practical content will be less directly applicable, though the general explanations of adoption and permanency may still be useful background.

Main service areas

Adoption and permanency information

The site covers adoption and permanency as a broad topic rather than only adoption. Its navigation includes:

  • Adoption, broken down into types of adoption: infant adoption, adoption from BC foster care, international adoption, and adoption by a relative or step-parent
  • Eligibility, costs, and timeline, plus a step-by-step adoption walkthrough and adoption statistics
  • Guardianship, kinship care, Indigenous customary care, and foster care
  • A FAQ and glossary for terms you will encounter in the process

The site also answers the basic question "What is permanency?" — useful if you are new to the idea that permanency includes guardianship and kinship arrangements, not just adoption.

Resources and education

Under Resources & Education you can find resources by topic, news, toolkits, an "Introduction to Adoption and Permanency" resource, and LEAP – Learning for Everyone in Adoption and Permanency, along with other learning opportunities. This section suits people who want structured learning rather than a one-off answer.

Support

Support options include one-to-one family support, online support groups, permanency support, and community groups and resources. This is the part of the site to use when you need to talk to someone or meet others in a similar situation, rather than read a guide.

Support for youth

For youth, the site lists know-your-rights information, AgedOut.com, life skills, bursaries, and youth support. Young people from government care can start here rather than in the adoption sections.

How to use the site

  1. Identify your situation using the audience list on the homepage (for example, "waiting families" or "youth in and from care").
  2. Read the relevant overview — for prospective parents, start with Adoption & Permanency and the eligibility, costs, and timeline page; for youth, start with the For youth section.
  3. Use the glossary and FAQ when a term or step is unclear.
  4. Move to support — one-to-one family support or an online support group — if you want to speak with someone.
  5. Check News and Events for current activities, and Ways to give / Donate Now if you want to support the organization.

The site is in English (en-CA) and is built around BC, Canada, so eligibility details and process steps reflect that context. The site does not publish pricing for its services in the material reviewed here, so do not assume support or resources are free — confirm directly through the contact page if cost matters to your decision.