National Adoption Week 2021 is taking place between the 18th and 22nd of October of this year. The week hopes to promote a better understanding of adoption through real life stories from many different points of view including adoptees themselves and adoptive parents – hearing what it means to them and how they feel about having been adopted or previous adoptive parents and family members in welcoming somebody else into their family.
Adoption is the legal process by which a child or a group of siblings who cannot be brought up within their birth family become full, permanent and legal members of a new family[1]. Adopters become the child’s legal parents. Some of the most common reasons for a child or young person being taken into case and then adopted includes abuse, neglect, family breakdown or parent/child illness[2]. During the year ending March 2020, 295 children were adopted from care in Wales[3].
Adoption is an extremely important legal process, not only for the adoptive parents, but for the adopted child. Children have a right, under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to be cared for and to be protected from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them. Adoption gives children a second chance at life, offering them stability, permanence, and the love and nurture that children need. This is important for the child’s welfare and development.
The stability adoption offers to a child is of upmost importance. A safe, secure and loving home, as well as a school which is consistent and nurturing, makes such a difference in a child’s development. A report conducted by the Children’s Commissioner for England confirmed that stability can support a child to flourish in their home and school, whilst also reducing the impact of any difficulties they have already had to endure to any compounding problems[4].
However, the number of children in care, in comparison to the number of adopters ready to welcome a child into their home as their own is extremely disproportionate. This is due to many reasons, such as misinformation, particularly barriers the parents might be facing, worries about the child’s passed trauma and stereotypes of what a child with such a background must be like. National Adoption Week aims to break down these barriers and work with potential families to encourage and discuss their decisions with family and friends.
Adoption can be life changing for children and the love and support they receive makes such an impact. Some of the worlds most renown individuals are examples of this. These include;
- Steve Jobs; the former chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple
- Simone Biles; an American gymnast with a total of 32 Olympic and Word Championship medals
- Nelson Mandela; former South African president who dedicated his lifer to fighting for equality
[1] https://www.adoptionuk.org/about-modern-adoption
[2] https://www.becomecharity.org.uk/care-the-facts/about-the-care-system/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20most%20common,or%20child’s%20illness%20or%20disability.&text=For%20some%20children%20and%20young,unsafe%20will%20be%20a%20relief.
[3] https://corambaaf.org.uk/resources/statistics/statistics-wales
[4] https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/2018/06/01/the-importance-of-stability/
By Elisa Jenkins, JFF Fellow