After Adoption sees massive increase in number of LGBT adopters
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of the child adoption placements achieved by After Adoption in the last 12 months were placed with parents whom identified as LGBT.
Families that Last, the family finding service of After Adoption, the leading national adoption support services provider, is highlighting that sexuality is not a factor in its search for loving adoptive families during this LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week, 2 – 8 March, 2015, organised by New Family Social.
Between 2013 to 2014, After Adoption placed 13 per cent of children with LGBT couples, compared to a national figure of just seven per cent, showing a significant increase in the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adopters through the charity in the last year.
After Adoption is a key sponsor and exhibitor of New Family Social’s LGBT Adoption & Fostering Week event, being held at 6.30pm on 2 March, 2015 at Manchester’s LGF on Richmond Street. The charity will speak about the process involved in adoption, answer prospective adopters’ questions and debunk the myths of barriers to the LGBT community and its opportunity to adopt children.
Lynn Charlton, After Adoption CEO, said: “At After Adoption, our priority as a Voluntary Adoption Agency is to create happy, lasting families. For this we need people to come forward to adopt who can provide loving, stable homes and who will commit to children for life. Sexuality isn’t a factor in that.
“People who identify as LGBT play a key role in creating these families and this year 1 in 5 of our newly approved adopters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. But we know some people are still worried they’ll be told “no”, or that their sexuality will be a barrier to adoption.
“LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week, organised by New Family Social, is a great opportunity to assure anyone considering adoption that their enquiry will be positively welcomed.”
New Family Social chief executive, Tor Docherty, added: “After Adoption is a proven successful family finding agency with a supportive and inclusive ethos for diverse adoptive families. We are thrilled to have the charity’s support for this year’s LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week, which is already making huge steps to increase the number of adoptive families coming forward to offer stable homes for children in care.”
After Adoption’s Families that Last LGBT service users have also shared their experiences of adoption.
Seamus approached After Adoption upon recommendation by a gay friend who had recently adopted three boys. Seamus is a single gay man who always wanted to adopt two children. He adopted a girl, aged four years, and is currently in the process of his second adoption.
He added: “At the time of being approved by panel to adopt, I was unemployed, and a single gay man. After Adoption made me welcome and provided a very friendly and speedy service to help place me with Chloe. The ongoing support from Families that Last and openness to help with the transition to school life has been invaluable. We are looking forward to partnering with them to provide a loving home to Chloe’s sibling in the near future.”
Sean and his partner, Dan, were married on New Year’s Eve, with their two adopted sons (10 and 11 years old), alongside them to celebrate their special day. Sean, who is 13 years Dan’s senior, never thought he’d have the opportunity to be a father and after only one year, they had been approved and matched with two boys who came to live with them.
Sean said: “We were involved in a study of adoptive families. The results interestingly showed that children brought up by same sex parents are more rounded, with open views of the world. I would tend to agree, we have always been open with the boys, friends and family and school about their adoption and to this day we have had no questions.
“We have recommended adoption to other same sex couples and whilst we’ve become more confident with our parenting, we know After Adoption is there at any stage for reassurance or as a sounding board for our questions.”
To find out more about adoption through Families that Last, please visit www.familiesthatlast.org.uk or call on 0300 456 2656.
To find out more about any of After Adoption’s services contact the helpline on 0800 0 568 578 or email [email protected]
After Adoption is a PinkNews advertiser
