NATIONAL ADOPTION WEEK.
The week of 5th to the 10th of November 2007 is ‘National adoption week.’ Significant media coverage will be given over to this event. In essence the focus of national adoption week is to celebrate adoption and highlight the great need for new adoptive families to enter the adoption process. St. David’s is urgently seeking to explore with families the prospect of them becoming adoptive parents for children in care. All enquiries from new adoptive families are responded to sensitively, supportively and swiftly. The Society gives a commitment to all adoptive families that it will support them for life.
Established in 1947, St David’s Children Society is the longest serving adoption agency in Wales. Since that period to the present time the Society has placed 2,000 children across Wales for adoption. While the majority of these children were placed as infants, very few infants are now placed for adoption. However the need for adoptive families is every bit as great now as it was when the Society was first established. What has changed is the type of child who now requires an adoptive family.
Many of the children currently waiting in care for adoption are older children. Their age range varies from three years to eleven years of age. Some of these children are brothers and sisters of all ages who need to remain together. Others are single children. Some children are from ethnic minority communities. Other children have different degrees of disabilities. Most of these children have been abused, neglected and ill-treated. There are approximately 4,000 children in care in England and Wales currently waiting for new adoptive homes. These children have yet to experience the most basic right to family life, a right embedded in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
For children living in care who cannot return to their families, time is crucial in finding them an adoptive forever family. Statistics indicate that the outcomes for children who remain in care for long periods are far from satisfactory.
- 50% of the prison population under 25 years of age are ex-care leavers
- Approximately 30% of homeless adults are ex-care leavers.
- 8 out of 10 children leaving care have no jobs to go to.
St. David’s Children Society sole purpose of existence is to find safe, loving homes for these children. Many of these children are understandably reluctant to make attachments to adults, with whom, past experience has taught them not to trust. With support from the Society’s adoption team these children do learn to set these fears aside, gradually rebuilding their young fractured lives.
There are many myths about the types of families who can adopt. Myths such as people over 40 years of age cannot adopt, or that single people cannot adopt. If you are interested in adoption please do not make the assumption that you are unsuitable. Children awaiting families are of all ages and abilities and the Society needs families to reflect this diversity. While St David’s Children Society is a Catholic agency, it welcomes enquiries from families of all faiths. All of its services are offered on a non-denominational basis.
If you wish to learn more about possibly becoming an adoptive parent please contact by phoning 029 20667007 or email: info@stdavidscs.org
Gerry Cooney
Director
St. David’s Children Society.
