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For children who cannot live with their own parents, adoption
offers a chance for a new permanent family.
People thinking
about adopting often think first of a baby. There are
black babies and toddlers (including sibling groups) needing
black families, and babies with disabilities
who need new homes. But if you are white and want to
adopt a white baby or toddler without disabilities, you
should
be prepared for a long wait and you should accept that
you may eventually be disappointed as very few such children
need adoption.
The greatest need is among the thousands
of school age children from a great variety of ethnic
and religious
backgrounds who wait for a new family. Some will have
been abused,
all will have experienced change and uncertainty and
their resulting behaviour may be challenging. There
are groups
of brothers and sisters who want to stay together and
children with physical and/or learning difficulties.
Although children placed for adoption
cannot live with their birth families, it is now widely
acknowledged that an “open” rather than
secretive attitude to adoption is most helpful to a
child.There will be unique arrangements for each individual
child which may mean direct contact for some children
with various members of birth families.
There are some children, particularly those aged
over about 10, for whom long-term fostering may
offer the
best possibility
of stability and commitment.
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