Charities urge Dorset residents to talk about adoption
As National adoption week begins Families for Children want to encourage those across to Dorset to talk about adopting
New data suggests that a third of people in the South West find adoption difficult to talk about and 80 percent say they don’t have a good understanding of how to start the process.
The organisation says that these stats are concerning as they try to find forever families to change their lives of vulnerable children waiting for adoptive families in Dorset.
In the past 10 years, 40,920 adoptions have taken place in England.
Ruth Marriot Chief executive Officer at Families for Children explains the numbers waiting
“Well in the Southwest in Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, and Devon there are currently 74 children who are waiting to be adopted. Nationally about 2000 children are waiting to be adopted and there are insufficient adopters to meet the needs of the children who were waiting.
Unfortunately, those who wait longest are those in sibling groups, black and ethnic minority children, those with additional disabilities and older children"
This year, adoption week is being dedicated to all the voices involved in the process that are often less heard, including adopted children, adopted adults, adoptive parents, birth parents, and the adoption and social care workforce that work to get children into permanent homes.
Ruth wants to break the stigmas around adoption:
“There are still so many myths surrounding adoption; specifically, around who can adopt, age and even accommodation worries. We want to raise awareness of the needs of children who wait the longest for their families, and are looking for people who have the motivation, commitment, and love to be a great parent.”
To highlight the work of adopting a new short film has been released to coincide with the week.
The film features the life stories and voices of six people that have had their lives changed by adoption – birth mother Anna, single mum and adopter Sarah, social worker Paula, 11-year-old Roman who was adopted age five, 19-year- old Tiegan who was adopted age four, and Sue who supported her daughter through the adoption process.