ACE is supporting a national recruitment campaign looking for more potential adoptive families for siblings.
Adoption Central England (ACE), the regional adoption agency for Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, is supporting a national recruitment campaign looking for more potential adoptive families for siblings.
Approximately 44% of all children waiting to be adopted in England are part of a family group1. Siblings often wait longer to be placed with adoptive parents with sibling groups of three or more children wanting to be placed together facing the longest wait. It is a national priority to reduce this waiting time and an increase in families looking to adopt sibling groups will help towards reducing this wait time.
Children benefit greatly from being placed together. Siblings have a shared history and their relationships with each other are very important and meaningful – it can be a further loss for a child if they have to live separately from a close and much-loved brother or sister.
ACE understands that prospective adoptive parents might have reservations about adopting sibling groups. The challenge might just seem too great and there are financial considerations along with big changes to family life. However, there are many emotional benefits to adopting siblings with 61% of adopters acknowledging that adopting children with their brothers and sisters has been the most beneficial factor in their child’s adoption journey2.
John Coleman, Assistant Director of Children and Family Services at Warwickshire County Council said: “Supporting our young people to give them the best start in life is a key priority for Warwickshire County Council and we are proud to support the national sibling adoption campaign and raise awareness of the importance of keeping siblings together within the adoption process.
“ACE provides ongoing support to adoptive families as they adjust their lives to offer a child or children lifelong homes and the service works tirelessly to find the right family for the right children. I’d encourage anyone thinking about adoption to get in touch.”
ACE ask all prospective adopters to consider adopting a sibling group. The ACE team will provide prospective adopters with information about the adoption process and the support packages available for adopters of siblings. Moving throughout the process, prospective families will be able to talk to current adoptive families of siblings to find out more. You can also read about adopter’s experiences on Adoption Central England’s website: aceadoption.com/jake-and-ben.
All families who adopt through ACE receive lifetime support, ensuring that they can access therapeutic services, have opportunities for ongoing training along with meeting other adoptive families for peer-to-peer support.
ACE is interested in hearing from people looking to adopt sibling groups of three or more children. To find out more about adoption visit aceadoption.com, call 0300 369 0556 or follow us on Facebook @aceadoption.
To find out more about the national sibling's campaign, visit www.youcanadopt.co.uk.