Scheme to encourage adoption
A NEW scheme which aims to home children who have been waiting for adoption more than a year is being launched this week.
The Adopting Together project will see Wales leading the way for placing priority children and is the first of its kind in the UK.
The launch coincides with National Adoption Week, which runs from today until October 21.
Adopting Together offers tailored help to those wishing to adopt through specialised assessment, training and therapeutic support.
Ten out of 11 children featured at the first Adopting Together recruitment event over the summer were linked with prospective adoptive parents.
The project is seen as a key step forward, as figures highlight that 63 children on the Wales Adoption Register have been waiting more than 12 months for a permanent home.
It is a response from Voluntary Adoption Agencies (St David’s, Barnardo’s, AFA Cymru, After Adoption and Adoption UK) to an urgent need highlighted by the National Adoption Service (NAS) to develop and deliver a more targeted approach to finding families for priority children across Wales.
One couple benefiting from the project are Mike, 39, and Tony, 42, from South Wales. They have been together for 14 years and both want to be dads.
They started to think about adoption 18 months ago and attended the first Adopting Together event in June, where they were matched with a boy who turns four next month.
Mike said the Adopting Together process was hugely supportive and created an enviroment of knowledge and open discussion at every step of the way.
He said: “Everything is there laid out on a plate for you, as it were. We started by going through St David’s and we then spoke to people directly involved with the child and were able to ask questions and learn a lot about him as the process went along.
“We spoke with social workers and the foster parent who had been dealing with him and it was all very supportive and everyone working towards the same goal.
“My message would be for anyone thinking about adoption to simply go and talk to organisations. It’s not as scary as people think and schemes like Adopting Together really prove that there are people ready to help and guide those wanting to adopt. If you are thinking about adoption, then already you are doing the right thing.”
Adopting Together will be delivered collectively by Voluntary Adoption Agencies and further supported by therapeutic partners, National Adoption Service (NAS) and Wales’ 22 local authorities and Cardiff University, who are supporting and evaluating the project.
Singeta Kalhan-Gregory, Adopting Together project manager, said: “Like every child, these children have a right to a loving forever home, yet the numbers of children waiting for a long time for families in Wales is growing.
“Having worked in adoption for a number of years, and with personal experience, I am so excited this project has been developed. Often adopters need that extra reassurance to help them throughout their adoption journey, and the psychological and tailored therapeutic support that is offered before, during and post the adoption placement will make a huge difference.
“We’ve already seen the positive impact our project is having on adopters and children.
“We are calling for potential adopters to inquire and give these children a chance to experience lifelong family life,” she added.