If you have been following us for a while, you will be aware that we always want to hear from people that would consider adopting siblings and all the joy and challenges that come with them 😍
Don't forget, you can access our Information Sessions whenever you are ready at https://adoptionwest.co.uk/information-videos/
"Do you want your child to look the same as you?"
No child should have to wait longer than another to be adopted, and yet more than 1,000 children in England are waiting significantly longer than others to find their forever homes.
These children tend to be either slightly older, are brothers and sisters waiting to be adopted together, have physical or educational needs, or come from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The team at #YouCanAdopt We spoke to real-life adopters of children from these groups, to find out exactly what it means for them to live #ALifeLessOrdinary.
Nationally, children from an ethnic minority
(excluding white minorities) wait 3
months longer for a suitable adoptive family to be found.
Every year we share some posts over PRIDE month, and let's be frank these posts are designed with the intention of promoting our open to all ethos. We welcome anyone considering adoption - it's that simple.
But , we appreciate that LGBT+ people may have some specific questions and concerns that relate to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and how others (including children, birth families and professionals) may react. We want to assure you, that there is very little that hasn't been asked before, and if we don't have the answer yet, we'll do our best to work with you to find it.
Sexual orientation and gender identity should bear no impact on your ability to be a great parent, our concerns lie with what your parenting abilities and capacities are and how we can support you to be the best parent to those that deserve nothing less than the best.
One final note: we take PRIDE in our adopters every single day. To those that step forward and offer love, commitment and stability to some of the most vulnerable children in our society, we are honoured to be part of your journey.
Our wonderful adopters talk about adopting a little girl who's future needs, and development, remains uncertain.
"We are always being told that we have done a wonderful thing adopting her but we see it as the opposite, she has done a wonderful thing for us, she has made our lives complete and taught us so much, how to be patient, how to be determined and never give up, and how to laugh until we cry. But, most importantly how to be a family, to fight for each other, and to love each other unconditionally."
Read their story here: https://adoptionwest.co.uk/our-journey-adopting-a-child-with-additional-needs-and-unknowns/
Family Finding Social Worker Vacancy (part-time role)
We are currently looking to recruit a part time social worker for the Regional Family Finding Team, covering the whole region but linked with the Gloucester office. The role will be finding families for children with plans of Adoption or Early Permanence.
Applications close on the 19th June.
https://adoptionwest.co.uk/vacancies-2/
As we approach the end of the first week of Pride month, New Family Social shared some of its thoughts on what Pride means with Fyne Times. They also covered some of the barriers that LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers can face in participating in parades and cutting comments from within our community.
http://ow.ly/R5NV50Jspuh
Closing this evening!
We have a couple of Adoption Support Worker Roles available in Gloucester and Bristol - which close for applications this evening.
The Support Worker post provides essential support to the Adoption Service activity. The tasks you will undertake includes letter box and direct contact between adoptive families and birth families, direct work with children and young people, support to birth parents with letter writing, life-story work and the development of best practice.
Check out our website to find out more; http://ow.ly/7RLx50Jqakx
Older child
Complex needs
and the dreaded 'Harder to place'
These are terms that have been used in the adoption world for a long time and some of them, we are thankfully moving away from.
But, what do they mean? The truth is, they are social worker jargon and essentially they are descriptions of children. That's right , simply just children.
Little human beings that have been through a huge amount in their lives and need adults that can step-up and advocate for them, nurture them, support them (through the rough and the smooth), and ultimately let them be children and experience all the wonderful things children should experience.
Adoption is not a quick fix, it requires dedication, perseverance, patience, energy and empathy by the buck load. We are here to support you on this journey, all the way, please get in touch.
