We are currently searching for adoptive families for 12 sets of brothers and sisters.
Just under half of children waiting for adoption are in family groups of two or more.
A national #YouCanAdopt campaign has launched to encourage more people to consider adopting groups of brothers and sisters
- There are 2,030 children in England looking for new homes, and 44% of those are brothers and sisters
- Within the Adoption West area, the following numbers of brothers and sisters are waiting
- 18 children in a sibling group of 2 = 9 pairs
- 6 children in a sibling group of 3 = 2 groups
- 4 children in a sibling group of 4 = 1 group
- The campaign launched by regional and voluntary adoption agencies across the country highlights the significant benefits of adopting family groups of children together,
- As part of the campaign, a new film has been released featuring three families who have adopted brothers and sisters, alongside a new podcast featuring singer Sinitta, who adopted a brother and sister in 2007
To encourage more people to consider adopting brother and sister groups, national, voluntary, and regional adoption agencies across the country have come together to launch a new nationwide #YouCanAdopt campaign that highlights the benefits of adopting more than one child and celebrates the irreplaceable bond of brothers and sisters.
The national campaign sees the release of a new film featuring three families who have adopted brothers and sisters. The emotive film celebrates the unique personal bond their children have and highlights the benefits of adopting a ready-made family.
Lauren, a mum of two children, adopted in 2018, states “I knew I wanted to consider siblings right from the start. I have three brothers, and during tough times, we have always pulled together. I cannot imagine life without them and being separated from them would have been highly destructive for us all. I knew I wanted to try to give an adopted child the opportunity to retain that important connection and support. I knew that taking on more than one child, as a single adopter, would be a challenge but, the more I learned, the more it felt like the right thing to do.”
Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, Child Psychologist and supporter of the campaign, said: “The brother and sister bond can offer incredible life-changing benefits throughout all aspects and stages of children’s lives. This is especially pertinent for adopted children, with #YouCanAdopt’s research showing the bond can support mental health, emotional wellbeing, social skills, and help children settle into a new family. Because of this, parents that adopt brothers and sisters together may find their experience benefitted by the support they can offer one another.”
Adoption West state that as well as the children, adopters also benefit; as many people come to adoption with the longer term plan of having more than one child; only going through the assessment process once, potentially a shorter wait time to be matched with children, as there is currently a local and national shortage of adopters for siblings and importantly your children sharing the same birth family and story, and the positive impact this can have on their understanding of their story and future contact arrangements with one birth family. While challenges exist, there is a significant amount of support available to potential adopters – from financial to practical – and most parents that adopted family groups say challenges are far outweighed by the positives.
Alison Lewis (Service Director at Adoption West) said: “So often we hear parents say adopting children with their brothers and sisters has been the most beneficial factor in their children’s adoption journey, with benefits including increased reassurance, companionship, comfort, and settling into family life more quickly. We urge anyone beginning their adoption journey to think about the children in family groups. We are looking for adopters that can offer the love, commitment and stability to enable children to stay with their brothers and sisters. There is plenty of support available – from the financial to the practical – for those that decide they can.”
For those interested in adoption, we recommend you take a look around the rest of our website and www.youcanadopt.co.uk/brothersandsisters and begin your journey towards growing your family.
