Who are the children, awaiting adoption in our region?
In most cases children needing adoption are already in care and placed with a foster carer until they can be placed with an adoptive family. There are babies, toddlers, sibling groups and older children who need to be adopted. We welcome applications from people who could care for children with specific medical needs or needs arising from physical or learning difficulties.
Many of these children have been abused or neglected. Most will not have received the love and stimulation they need, so finding a family who can offer the time, patience and commitment to help them adjust to a secure family life is the ultimate aim for our teams.
Every child waiting for adoption has different needs, experiences and background, so in turn we encourage a wide variety of prospective adopters to come forward from all backgrounds/walks of life to match these needs as closely as possible.
The children profiled below are not real children, but are typical of the type of children waiting to be adopted in our areas. Stock images used throughout.
Amelia and Jamie
Amelia is a wonderful little girl, who takes a considered and careful approach to get to know her surroundings and new people. She loves being around other children and taking care of her little brother Jamie, who she loves being with. They can often be found curled up under a blanket together sharing stories, a particular favourite is the Tiger Who Came to Tea.
Amelia and Jamie love being outdoors, especially being in the garden looking for snails to add to their snail family. Amelia especially loves spending time with the foster carer’s dog: Doddles, “he loves it best when I tickle his tummy”.
Amelia and Jamie need a family that can understand the chaotic circumstances that have brought them to being adopted and help them process what has happened to them. It is really important they maintain ongoing connections with their birth families, particularly their older siblings, and have continuing contact with their foster carers, who have played a huge role in their lives so far.
Kiara-Rose
Kiara-Rose was born at 38 weeks. It is currently unclear whether her birth mother accessed any maternity services. Birth mother has not yet disclosed any details of Kiara-Rose’s birth father. Birth mother is currently homeless and has stated she has used heroin during the pregnancy. Kiara-Rose is currently being treated for withdrawal. Birth mother has stated she is not able to care for her daughter, and has not given the details of any family members that could be considered to care for Kiara-Rose.
The Local Authority are seeking an Early Permanence placement for Kiara-Rose, with twice weekly family time with her birth mother. At this time Kiara-Rose remains in hospital, but it is anticipated she will be ready for discharge within five days.
Kiara-Rose is feeding well and responding to the withdrawal treatment. At this stage it is very unclear what her future needs may be, but should her long-term plan become one of adoption, it will be important for her to understand her beginnings. She is a gorgeous little girl with wisps of auburn hair, and a tiny button nose.
Dione
You cannot be in a room with Dione and not smile, his energy and love of all things silly is infectious. Dione is the master of knock knock jokes and loves to make people laugh.
Dione has been at school for nearly a year, he is getting on really well, and shows a real talent for drawing and story-telling. Dione prefers to spend his time one on one with people, in a quiet environment , therefore he can struggle with the noisy parts of the day. School have a quiet area which he likes to visit when things get a little overwhelming. His love of peace and order, mean Dionne is a master den builder and he loves nothing better than a Saturday afternoon spent building dens with sofa cushions and blankets and curling up inside with a snack (Oreos are the current biscuit of choice).
As with all children that are placed for adoption, it is really important that adopters are able to help Dionne understand, and explore, his ethnicity and cultural heritage. Dionne has three older siblings that he lived with, before being placed with foster carers, he loves to look at photos of his siblings and looks forward to his contact time with them. It is incredibly important to Dionne that contact continues with his siblings.
Riley
Riley is an active inquisitive little boy. Riley is making progress all of the time and his gross motor skills in particular have vastly improved. He is learning to ride a bike, which he thinks is brilliant—the sensation of the wind on his face makes him giggle uncontrollably. Riley is great at celebrating his successes (big and small) and loves to get everyone involved with a round of high fives.
Riley loves it when his social worker comes to visit, he cannot wait to get into her ‘busy bag’ and see what sticker books she has with her. His favourites are ones that feature superheroes and he will spend a happy ten minutes careful placing the stickers into the book and humming to himself.
Riley was born prematurely at 32 weeks as a result of this and his probable exposure to alcohol in utero, he still has some ongoing medical needs, including an ongoing assessment for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, this will be discussed at greater length with potential adopters and a comprehensive support plan will be put in place to meet Riley’s needs.
Kai and Brandon
Kai and Brandon have always lived together and while they have the usual sibling squabbles (often centred around what they are going to watch on TV), they definitely look out for one another. On entering foster care, the boys were given separate rooms, but it was quickly discovered everyone got more sleep if they were in the same room.
It has taken time for both brothers to try new foods, but now they are loving trying new things and encouraging one another. A recent game being for Kai to close his eyes and Brandon to choose something new to feed him, and then swap. This results in lots of funny faces and laughter. Their love of new foods has led to a new hobby; Kai and Brandon love to cook! Making pasta being a real success.
Kai and Brandon experienced a very chaotic early life and were exposed to incidents of domestic violence in the home. They will need ongoing support to help them understand their early life and the impact this has had on them.
