New adoption campaign backed by Nottinghamshire County Council and Adoption East Midlands

A newly-launched nationwide campaign aiming to find parents for children waiting longest to be adopted, is being supported by Nottinghamshire County Council and Adoption East Midlands.
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With latest data revealing there are enough prospective adopters for most children waiting to be adopted, the campaign from You Can Adopt: ‘A Life Less Ordinary’ is focused on finding the right adopters for specific groups of children that face the greatest delays in finding a home.

These include children aged five or over, children with additional and/or complex needs, brother and sister groups, and those from an ethnic minority background, who all, statistically, wait longer to be adopted from care.

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The new campaign showcases the many life-changing benefits of adopting these children, explores the traits parents need to be resilient adopters and highlights the support available to adopters and adopted children.

As part of the ‘A Life Less Ordinary’ campaign, new data from You Can Adopt shows that 29.4 per cent of people in the East Midlands would consider adopting a child.

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However, showing the need for adopters to come forward specifically for groups waiting longest, the majority in the East Midlands are most open to adopting a child aged between one and four (92.8 per cent); 19 per cent wouldn’t adopt a child with additional needs, (such as a physical or mental disability), and 16.7 per cent wouldn’t adopt a brother and sister group.

The survey also reveals perceptions, practical challenges, and barriers around adopting these groups.

An 'expert panel' of children 'interviewed' adoption parents for the campaign's new filmAn 'expert panel' of children 'interviewed' adoption parents for the campaign's new film
An 'expert panel' of children 'interviewed' adoption parents for the campaign's new film
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In the East Midlands, 39.7 per cent didn’t feel they had the skills to adopt a child with additional needs and 16.3 per cent would feel overwhelmed by adopting a brother and sister group.

Cost and lack of space at home were also concerns around adopting children from across all groups.

However, more than 45 per cent in the East Midlands said they would be more likely to consider adopting a child from one of these groups if they knew about the range of support available.

Shelagh Mitchell, Adoption East Midlands’ group manager, said: “Adoption East Midlands is once again proud to be part of the national #YouCanAdopt campaign encouraging people to consider adopting a child.

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"Our dedicated team of social workers and family workers provide support every step of the way for anyone at any stage of their adoption journey.

“If you believe you can consider adopting, our website has lots of useful information including full details about the range of support available.

"Alternatively, you can call us for a friendly chat or come along to our next information event on Monday, July 18.

Coun Tracey Taylor (Con), cabinet member for children and young people at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We’re supporting this national campaign to find adopters for children who wait the longest.

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"We want to bust the misconceptions about adopting older children, brother and sister groups, children from ethnic minorities, or those with additional needs.

"We want to find parents who can give them a loving, stable, permanent home.”

As part of the campaign, a new film has been released featuring children from these groups forming an ‘expert’ interview panel, asking real adoptive parents questions about what it takes to give these children a permanent home.

You can watch the film here.

For more about adoption, click here.