#YouCanAdopt – we’ve been busting myths about adoption in Buckinghamshire

Community, Health and Social Care, Homepage

Did you know you can adopt if you’re single? Did you know you can adopt if you’re gay? Did you know the adoption process need not be daunting and there’s support all the way?

Throughout this autumn, Buckinghamshire Council’s been taking part in the national #YouCanAdopt campaign which aims to break down common misconceptions about adoption that might be putting people off moving forward with plans to adopt.

In fact, if you can provide a loving, safe and stable home for a child who needs adopting, then chances are you will be able to adopt.

In Buckinghamshire, anyone considering adopting with us can use our online ‘checker’ to see if they’re eligible and to find out more about the process. Adopting with Buckinghamshire Council means you’ll get support every step of the way including after you’ve completed the process and have become an adoption family.

In Buckinghamshire we always need adopters who want to parent older children, sibling groups and children with additional needs. We would also want more people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to adopt; this is because we want as wide a pool as possible of adoptive parents so we can find matches for our children more easily. It’ s important to have a wide variety of different cultures and backgrounds to find the right families for our children.

Tony Green is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Youth Provision.

He said:

“It’s been great to see the #YouCanAdopt campaign highlighting these myths around adoption. I really hope there’s no-one out there who would like to adopt but who is put off by misconception. The reality is that we really welcome all enquiries so if you think you could provide a safe and loving home for a child who needs adopting then please get in touch with our friendly team.

We would especially like to hear from you if you are thinking of adopting a child aged 3 or older, or would be interested in adopting siblings to help keep brothers and sisters together. We also need adopters who can initially act as foster carers for young children before they adopt them – this is called ‘Early Permanence’.

Either go online at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/adoption or get in touch with our team on 01494 586 349 to find out more about adopting with Buckinghamshire Council.”