Children's services
Drive to find adopters for children who wait longest for permanent home
Published on
The Regional Adoption Agency for the Black Country, Adoption@Heart, is supporting a campaign to encourage people considering adopting a child to come forward to find out more.
Today (Tuesday, June 20), a campaign has been launched by the National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group You Can Adopt which highlights the circle of support important to adopters. The campaign comes as new research reveals that 45% of parents in the West Midlands found support from other parents invaluable when raising their child.
The new campaign aims to reach potential parents for children from certain groups that wait longest to be adopted (approximately eight months longer*) and sees a series of new films released featuring real life stories from those who have adopted and fostered children, and others who have been adopted themselves. The films spotlight the various means of support available throughout the adoption journey from adoption agencies, social workers, charities, employers, friends, relatives, peers, and more.
Latest data shows there are 1,980 children waiting for adoption in England, with half of these waiting longer than 18 months since entering care. The majority of children waiting for adoption (59%, or 1,170 children) come from specific groups repeatedly facing the longest delays in finding a home.
These groups include children aged five or over, children with additional or complex needs, brother and sister groups, and those from a Black and mixed heritage background. Compared to children without these characteristics, children from these groups wait an average of eight months longer from entry into care to adoption, a total of 32 months.
Children over five wait 16 months longer to be adopted from care than children under five, children with a disability wait nine months longer to be adopted from care than children without a disability and children in sibling groups wait seven months longer to be adopted from care than single children.
Meanwhile, black and mixed heritage children wait two months longer than average to be adopted from care, with delays caused because there are not enough Black and mixed heritage adopters coming forward to adopt children from the same background. This is why, as part of the campaign, a specialised recruitment drive will run to encourage Black and mixed heritage people to consider adoption.
To help find parents for these children, the You Can Adopt campaign aims to encourage potential adopters by acknowledging that, while these groups of children will need additional support, the power of family and a permanent home can be transformational for these children, and a circle of support is available to help adopters on this journey.
“ The benefits of adoption for children who are unable to remain with their birth family are well known.
This campaign is reaching out to people asking if they can come forward to consider adopting a child who will otherwise remain in care for longer. There is support available and, at Adoption@Heart, we will help you every step of the way. Adopting can change a child’s life and change an adopter’s life, please call us or visit our website to find out more.
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“ I got talking to my social worker about all the children that are in the system and a lot of children are Black African, Black Caribbean, or dual heritage, particularly boys, and I just felt like as a Black Caribbean single adopter myself, that I’ve got a lot to offer.
I’ve already given my own birth child a lot of love, a lot of background history on where he’s from, and to offer that to another child was our way forward. If you’ve got that space and love to give any child, I would grab it by the horns and go for it because life is too short. Anything could happen and the joy that a child will bring you is immense.
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“ While it may take longer to find the right family for some children, every child deserves the right to a loving, stable, and permanent home, which is why You Can Adopt is encouraging anyone considering adopting siblings, older children, children with complex needs or who are from the Black Community to come forward.
This campaign also recognises the importance of community in raising a child and highlights the variety of support available to adopters, from peer support, family days out, training sessions and workshops, therapeutic and financial support for groups of children with those additional needs. Adoption may not always be easy, but support is available at each stage and can positively change the trajectory of a child’s life forever.
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Adoption@Heart is the Regional Adoption Agency for the Black Country, providing adoption services for City of Wolverhampton Council, Walsall Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust.
Adoption information events take place every two weeks and are the perfect place for those who are ready to start their adoption journey or would like more information.
For more information about adoption and how to enquire about becoming an adopter, contact Adoption@Heart by visiting www.adoptionatheart.org.uk, calling 01902 553818 or emailing info@adoptionatheart.org.uk.
Notes to editors:
1/ To explore parents’ support networks and the diverse meaning of family and community for the wider public, You Can Adopt has published new research showing that support is essential for all parents – not just adopters. The research found that in the West Midlands:
- 86% believe community is important in raising a child
- 45% of parents found support from other parents invaluable when raising their child, with 24% finding help from WhatsApp groups (or similar) or online forums
- 45% of parents say their child has non-blood relatives they refer to as aunty or uncle
2/ The You Can Adopt Support Coalition is a brand new group of charities, organisations, and employers, convened to show a widespread commitment to supporting and encouraging prospective adopters looking to adopt children that wait longest. The growing coalition includes dedicated charities such as Family Fund and Fertility Network and employers that offer a range of inclusive rights and benefits for adopters including John Lewis which is the first employer to pledge its support.
3/ As part of the campaign, You Can Adopt has united a number of organisations, including John Lewis and Family Fund, to show their support for adopters. A new podcast episode featuring Love Island winner and former children's social worker Sanam Harrinanan in conversation with an adopter about their adoption journey also goes live today.
4/ Please download additional assets and film content for the You Can Adopt campaign. To note, all parents featured in the films are real adoptive parents or individuals who have been adopted.
5/The new podcast episode featuring Love Island winner Sanam Harrinanan is available.
6/ You Can Adopt Support Coalition
You Can Adopt has united a number of organisations, charities and employers to show widespread commitment to supporting and encouraging prospective adopters looking to adopt children that wait longest, including:
- John Lewis
- Family Fund
- Family Action
- Fertility Network
- The Council for Disabled Children
- Churches Together England
7/ ASG Data
Average times from entry into care to adoption for children who had been adopted in the first three quarters in 2022/23. Produced by the Children's and Social Care Secretariat, delivered by Coram-I.
- There are 1,980 children waiting for adoption in England
- One in five (20%) are aged 5 years or over
- 41% are in a sibling group
- 1,170 / 59% of these are in one of the ‘harder to place’ categories
- Average time from entry into care to adoption for all children is 28 months
- Children aged 5 years and over have the longest average journey from entry into care to adoption, an average of 41 months, 13 months longer than the average for all children
- Children with a disability wait 37 months - 9 months longer than the average
Eight months is the how much longer children with ‘harder to place’ characteristics wait, compared to children without these characteristics.
8/ National attitudinal research:
The attitudinal research was conducted by Opinion Matters, with a sample size of 2,000 adults and an additional boost of 1,500 for Black audiences.
- For more information, any interview requests, or questions, please contact Catherine Furnival at Adoption@Heart on Catherine.furnival@adoptionatheart.org.uk
