Every child is different. Their unique traits, characters, experience, difficulties and strengths all contribute to who they are, and who they will become. Therefore there is no set profile of a child that needs adopting.
That said, each year there are a vast number of children in England waiting to find their adoptive family, this figure is currently around 4000 each year. When taken as a whole, we can see certain profiles emerging regarding these children who need adopting.
Understanding that these broad categories of children that need adoption have different success rates is crucial to understanding which children need adopting. As we look at the different groups of children waiting to be adopted into loving families, we’ll look at the national statistics on adoption so that we can paint an accurate picture.
Children Looking for a Permanent Family
While looking at the types of children who need adoption can be helpful to understand the overall picture, we also need to bear in mind some commonalities.
All children who are waiting to be adopted come from a background where there has been a tricky or traumatic start. None of them are able to be brought up by their birth families which means that even the youngest babies waiting for adoption have faced separation and loss.
However, all have another factor in common: their potential. Every child coming to adoption has the potential to grow and thrive, they just need a loving family to make that possible.
The broad categories of children needing adopting include:
- Older children with traumatic backgrounds:
72% of children waiting to be adopted are over the age of 2. The reality is that many of these children have been actively removed from their birth parents following traumatic experiences. They may have been abused (physically, sexually or emotionally). They may have suffered neglect. There may be a history of substance misuse by the birth parents. These children usually come to adoption via a long period of instability with different care arrangements. They need a great deal of time, love and nurturing parenting to enable them to thrive. Only 1% of adoptions are a result of foster to adopt where the child has been placed with the prospective parents as a new-born.
- Sibling Groups:
Sibling groups are harder to place with adoptive families, but often the need for these siblings to stay together is immense. 64% of children waiting to be matched are in sibling groups of at least two children. Often, a child in care’s sibling is the only constant they have known. Offering sibling group adoption to these children enables them to stay together benefiting from a secure attachment with their sibling.
- Boys:
It’s a sad fact that 56% of children waiting to be adopted are boys. Finding adoptive parents for boys is harder than it is for girls. Adoptive parents can prefer the idea of adopting a girl, believing it will be more successful and even result in fewer behavioral difficulties. There hasn’t been enough research done on this to assert the reasons confidently, but the fact remains that more boys are awaiting adoption.
- Minority Groups:
While the vast majority of children up for adoption are white (72%), a large minority are black minority ethnic children (28%). What makes these figures more surprising is when you compare them to the demographics of the UK population as a whole, and the proportion of approved adopters we have from these backgrounds. It’s important for the wellbeing of a child to match them with an adoptive family who can support a child’s cultural, ethnic and religious origins and background.
- Children with Disabilities:
Babies and children with disabilities do pose additional caring needs and responsibilities. Meeting these children’s needs within an adoptive family can seem like a specialist task, even though it is the most appropriate arrangement for them. Much of the barrier to adopting these children come from a lack of understanding about what a particular disability entails.
No matter which category a child falls in to, they all need a loving and supportive home. They all have so much to give, if only they were given a chance. To find out more about adoption and the children who need it, find out more here.