There is a desperate need for more people to come forward to provide secure, permanent and loving families for children who need to be adopted in North Yorkshire.
It is hoped that National Adoption Week from the 3rd to 9th November will provide an inspiration for people to come forward.
The focus for the campaign this year is siblings, as sibling groups are amongst the children who wait the longest to be adopted.
National Adoption week 3-9 November 2014
Paul and Anne recently adopted two brothers and said: We always wanted to adopt siblings from the start. We wanted our children to always have each other in their lives, to be able to grow together and have that connection. Having them together has been great, sometimes exhausting but very rewarding. They love each other very much and are best friends and I can see them always being close as they grow up.
Adoption North Yorkshire is currently searching for families for six groups of siblings, with the majority of the children being under the age of four.
Being placed with siblings may not be right for every child, but if it is in the children’s best interests to stay together it’s crucial that everything possible is done to ensure brothers and sisters are not separated simply due to a shortage of adopters who are willing and able to give them a home.
County Councillor Tony Hall, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for the Children and Young People’s Service, said:
Sibling relationships are very important and can be very special. For children who have had an unsettled and uncertain start in life, it can be devastating to then lose their brothers and sisters. We really do need people who can offer a child or sibling group a loving and supportive family for life to pick up the phone and find out more about adoption.
National Adoption Week is organised by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) and aims to raise awareness of adoption and encourage potential adopters to come forward. There are an estimated 6,000 children across the UK needing adoption every year, many of whom will have suffered trauma in their lives.
People who are interested in finding out more about adoption can call Adoption North Yorkshire on 0800 389 2362 or go to www.northyorks.gov.uk/adoption
Adoption North Yorkshire is part of Being Family, an initiative led by the Yorkshire and Humber Adoption Consortium, along with 18 other local authority and voluntary adoption agencies in the region.
