Plea for homes to end heartache for siblings
Boys’ plight shows need for loving foster carers
YORKSHIRE’S REGIONAL adoption agency has launched an urgent plea for families to come forward to adopt brothers and sisters after it emerged that more than half of the 187 children currently waiting for a “forever home” in the county were part of a sibling group.
Keeping a family together would be ideal in most cases, says One Adoption, but there are not enough potential parents coming forward who feel they can offer a home for siblings. As a result some have to be separated, which can be distressing and disruptive to the children’s lives.
As 2018 gets under way, the agency, which is made up of local authority adoption teams, has launched an appeal for those considering adopting children – particularly siblings – who feel they can provide a loving, secure home.
Joanne Hewson, chair of the regional adoption board, said: “We know people often think more seriously about adoption at this time of year, so we’d like to send out a clear message to them get in touch.
“We have information events running across Yorkshire in January and knowledgeable staff waiting to talk to them.”
The service revealed there are currently 61 children in One Adoption’s North and the Humber area waiting to be adopted, with 29 of these part of a sibling group.
In West Yorkshire, 160 children are waiting for forever homes, 72 of which are part of a sibling group, while in South Yorkshire there are currently 76 children waiting for placements, within which are 18 sibling groups.
BROTHERS REECE and Tom have always lived together.
But the boys, aged four and two, could face being split up and forced to live in separate homes if a family willing to provide a “forever home” for both of them doesn’t come forward.
It comes after Yorkshire’s regional adoption agency revealed that half the 187 children in the county who are waiting to be adopted are siblings, with a shortage of parents willing to take on brothers and sisters.
Joanne Hewson, chair of the regional adoption board, said the boys, whose names have been changed to protect their identity, have lived with foster carers for a year but are in need of a permanent, secure and loving home.
She said: “They are lively, busy little boys, who are always on the go. They generally get on well together although can be competitive at times.
“Their birth parents have drug and alcohol problems and there was a lot of violence between them which the children witnessed.
“Because the birth parents were focussed on their own needs the children were often left hungry and spent long periods without adult attention.
“When they first became looked after they couldn’t do lots of things that children of their age would usually do. Both boys have come on in leaps and bounds whilst with their foster carers.”
Reece is a happy, sociable little boy who enjoys playing with other children, especially his brother, Ms Hewson said.
“He loves playing outdoors too. He has a cheeky sense of humour and his foster carers describe him as being ‘a joy’. He can be a fussy eater and can take a long time to finish a meal. His foster carer says that when Reece makes up his mind about something there is very little chance that he will change it,” she said.
“Tom is happy and sociable, has a good sense of humour and can be quite cheeky. He has a strong personality and can assert himself when needed, although he is more laid back than his brother,” she added.
“Tom is a generally healthy child with no significant health issues although when he first came into foster care he was behind with his speech but this has improved significantly over time and he is now catching up fast.”
Everyone working with the brothers at One Adoption is desperate to keep them together as they grow up.
“But if we can’t find someone who can provide a home for both of them it’s possible they may have to be matched individually,” Ms Hewson said. “This would be a real tragedy but is sadly the reality for some sibling groups for whom adoption is the best route to a permanent home.”
More children are being taken into care across England, but the number who are adopted is falling.
The number of “looked-after children” in Yorkshire, including adoption, has risen by almost 500 in the last year.
By March 2017, there were 7,720, compared to 7,250 the previous year.
Leeds has the most lookedafter children, with 1,255, and York has the least, with 205.
One Adoption offers training and support to enable adoptive parents to use their skills and life experience and to draw on those of other adoptive parents.
The next adoption information event takes place in Sheffield on January 10.
This would be a tragedy but is sadly the reality for some sibling groups. Joanne Hewson, chair of the regional adoption board.
ADOPTING A child and giving a young person who is likely to have had a very difficult start in life the opportunity to grow up in a secure and loving family environment is an act of extraordinary generosity.
Across Yorkshire, countless children have had the courses of their lives changed utterly for the better by people who went through the adoption process.
But a plea today by the One Adoption group made up of local council adoption teams in this region highlights an unhappy but often-hidden issue; the difficulty of finding homes for brothers and sisters.
More than half of the 187 children currently waiting for a forever home in the county are siblings but there are not enough potential parents coming forward who feel they can provide for more than one child.
Heartbreakingly, this has led to some distressing cases where some siblings have had to be separated from their brother or sister.
With the New Year typically being a time when people think more seriously about adoption, One Adoption has now launched an region-wide appeal to find more prospective parents.
They are particularly looking for those who may be willing to take on siblings like young brothers Reece and Tom, who have been in foster care for the past year because of their parents’ drug, alcohol and violence problems which meant they were often left to go hungry.
Such children should be granted not only a safe and loving family environment to grow up in but also the opportunity to remain with their siblings and support each other through childhood and into adult life. It is the least they deserve.