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As part of LGBTQ+ Fostering and Adoption Week, LGBTQ+ people are being asked to consider the number of vulnerable
children they could adopt or foster.
The latest estimates in England show that 4 in 10 children with a sibling are separated from them when placed in care. Led by New Family Social, LGBTQ+ Adoption & Fostering Week starts today and asks potential applicants to think about the number of vulnerable children they could parent or care for.
The need for more LGBTQ+ applicants to explore adoption and fostering is as great as ever. In England in 2022 there were some 82,170 looked-after children. Despite strong numbers of LGBTQ+ people adopting, the number of looked-after children grew by two per cent from the previous year. Previous analysis showed 47 per cent of same-gender couples waiting for an adoption match
were more open to considering groups of brothers and sisters, compared to 36 per cent of different-gender couples.
Tor Docherty, New Family Social Chief Executive said: ‘We hope LGBTQ+ potential applicants will think about the number of children they could care for. Some children need to be cared for by themselves. Others will thrive if they can live with their siblings. In adoption and fostering the needs of the child and children must remain paramount – for some siblings this means staying together.’
The 2023 campaign is supported by all of us here at Family Adoption Links and is the only campaign to solely focus on LGBTQ+ potential applicants. Running since 2012, the campaign’s seen the number of adoptions in England to same gender couples grow from 1 in 31 to 1 in 6 in 2022.
Marketing Officer Alex McGuire enthused “We are delighted to have helped a number of LGBTQ+ people to grow their family through adoption and are enthusiastic about New Family Social’s campaign to encourage individuals to consider taking a sibling group.
