Campaign calls for more adopters to come forward this New Year

Regional adoption agency for the Black Country, Adoption@Heart, is appealing for more families to come forward to adopt a child into a safe, loving, and permanent home.

Adoption@Heart, which works in partnership with City of Wolverhampton Council, Dudley Council, Sandwell Children’s Trust and Walsall Council, is calling for all those who are considering adoption, or would like some more information, to take the next step and get in touch.

Adopters are needed from all walks of life and families are particularly needed for, older children, groups of brothers and sisters, children from an ethnic minority background, and children with additional needs.

There are some misconceptions around who can adopt, and many people mistakenly rule themselves out. Adoption@Heart wants to help combat those misconceptions to encourage more people to come forward to find out more.

Lots of people can adopt, whether they are single, living together, married, a same sex couple, have a disability, in employment or not working, or already have children. Potential adopters must legally be a UK resident and have been so for at least 12 months, as well as being aged 21 or over. There is also no upper age limit.

Adoption@Heart’s Head of Service, Lisa Preston, says: “As a new year begins, we often find people enquire into adoption as they consider the year ahead.

“We are always looking for more parents who can give children a secure home; giving them lots of individual time, understanding and on-going support to help them reach their full potential. We need a diverse range of people from within the community, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity or whether they have a faith or not.

"People who could make really good adoptive parents are often put off because they wrongly think they are not eligible to adopt and that it is a difficult process. We are asking for those people to get in touch to find out more about the adoption process before ruling themselves out.

"Being an adoptive parent can bring challenges but can also be rewarding. So, we are asking anyone who has thought about adoption to get in touch or register for one of our information events to find out more and have a chat, as we are always here to support you every step of the way.”

It is easy to find out more about adoption at an information event which take place every two weeks. The events are the perfect place for those who are ready to start their adoption journey or would simply like more information.

Many events are held virtually online, but face-to-face events are also available with Adoption@Heart’s next in-person event taking place at 6pm on Tuesday 24 January at Portway Lifestyle Centre in Oldbury. Pre-booking and alternative information events are available.

Adoption@Heart is the Regional Adoption Agency for the Black Country, providing adoption services for City of Wolverhampton Council, Walsall Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust. The agency welcomes enquiries from these areas as well as the surrounding areas.

For more information, please come along to an information event, call 01902 553818 or email info@adoptionatheart.org.uk