Campaign launched to show need for more adopters as part of National Adoption Week
4 November 2014First4Adoption highlights the need for more people to consider adopting one of the 4,600 children in England currently waiting for new loving families, as it publishes research on behalf of the Department for Education that shows people’s likelihood of adopting varies depending on where they live. Myths also continue to be a major barrier to people coming forward to adopt, warns the adoption information service, with many wrongly believing that you can’t adopt if you are over 40, single, gay or lesbian, living in rented accommodation or already have children.
According to the research, published today by First4Adoption at the start of National Adoption Week, Londoners are the most likely to offer a child a loving home. Of the 1 in 7 people (or 4 million) people in England who say they are ‘certain’ or ‘very likely’ to adopt, the largest group (7% or 309,800 people) live in London. Meanwhile, the smallest group who are ‘certain’ or ‘very likely’ to adopt are those living in the South East, East Anglia, Yorkshire & Humber and the South West (each at 3% of the total group).
“There are thousands of boys and girls who would massively benefit from the love and security that a new loving family could give them,” commented Gemma Gordon-Johnson, Head of Service at First4Adoption. “Many more people can adopt than is commonly believed. So this National Adoption Week, we are encouraging more people, wherever they live in England and whatever their personal circumstances, to give us a call on 0300 222 0022 to find out more about adopting a child.”
Additional research from First4Adoption published today shows that of those who have contacted the service to find out more about adopting:
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of those who are living in London and nearly a fifth of those living in the West Midlands (19%) are single
- Around a third of those living in the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands, South East, South West and London are women aged 41-50 years old.
“It’s really encouraging that so many people who are aged over 40 or who are single are starting to come forward to find out more about adopting,” commented Gemma Gordon-Johnson. “However, we need to continue to bust those persistent myths around who can adopt so that more people come forward to adopt one of the thousands of children who urgently need new homes.”
Adoptive mum Ali, who adopted a two-year old girl with her partner Lauren, said: “Being able to give a loving home to someone who wouldn’t have one otherwise is a fantastic thing, but we did this for ourselves, so that we could have a wonderful family.”
First4Adoption has also launched a handy guide to adopting ‘Becoming an Adopter: Step By Step’ to mark National Adoption Week. You can also find out about information evenings being held by adoption agencies in your local area.
The government is currently introducing wide-ranging reforms of the adoption system to make it faster and easier to adopt. Under the new two-stage adopter assessment process, prospective adopters should know if they have been approved to adopt within six months. The government also recently announced the creation of £19.3 million Adoption Support Fund providing post-adoption support for adoptive families.
For more information about adopting a child in England, give us a call on 0300 222 0022
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