Supporting our LGBTQ+ adopters

Adoption Matters are proud to support the second annual Adoption & Foster Care Support Week for LGBTQ+ parents, which takes place 20-24 September.

In 2020, 1 in 6 adoptions in England were to same-sex couples. Research suggests that LGBTQ+ adoptive parents are more likely to adopt older children, sibling groups, or those with additional needs and disabilities than other adopters. While LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers bring a unique skillset to parenting, they also face distinct and separate support challenges to other adopters and foster carers.

To help our LGBTQ+ adopters Adoption Matters is supporting this campaign to raise awareness of new, unique content online that our adopters can access as the campaign takes place. Throughout the week this will focus on education. New Family Social – the UK’s charity for LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers – leads the campaign and says education is frequently a concern for them.

Adoption Matters Centre for Adoption Support has facilitated training into nurseries, schools and colleges with the aim creating an ‘attachment and trauma aware’ community, so that ALL of our adopted children and young people experience the nurturing environments that they need to develop, grow and achieve.  They also work closely with many schools delivering RAMPs (Reduced Anxiety Management Plans) which aims reduce to support their children and help to reduce their anxieties. The Centre also offers LGBTQ+ support groups which covers a variety of topics and is a chance for families to just chat and mingle (albeit sometimes virtually!).

Adoption Matters  is a proud member of New Family Social and offers free access to the charity’s services as part of its support package for its LGBTQ+ adopters.

For more information about Adoption Matters visit: www.adoptionmatters.org/proud

Notes

• New Family Social is the UK’s charity for LGBT+ adopters and foster carers, with some 5,500 members. It offers peer support services to LGBT+ adopters and foster carers across all four nations. The charity also works with adoption and fostering agencies to help develop their response to applications by LGBT+ people and improve those agencies’ ongoing support for those already parenting.
• All statistics of same-sex couples adopting are from the nation’s relevant government department. In all cases the statistics underestimate the number of LGBT+ people adopting as bisexual people and trans people in a differing-sex relationship are excluded. Also absent from the data is any sexual orientation or gender identity of single adopters. No government department in the nations publishes equivalent data for foster carers.
• During the campaign State of the Survey 2021 results will be published. These results are from a poll of LGBT+ people at any point in the assessment or parenting process for adoption or fostering.