THE number of children waiting to be adopted in Southampton has more than halved in two months.

Since the Daily Echo-backed drive to recruit more parents to adopt was launched in the city 31 children have been found a permanent home.

It means the number of youngsters now on the waiting list has dropped from 53 to 22 but social services bosses say they are still in urgent need of more adopters.

A spokesman for the city council said: “It is encouraging that the number has come down.

“We have been running activity days and information events and that has hopefully attracted more prospective adopters, the fruits of that will hopefully be seen in several months.

“But we are still in urgent need of more adopters. We want to be in the position where we have adoptive parents ready so that children in our care do not have to wait long to be matched.”

A fresh drive is now being launched to attract new adopters within a 40-mile radius of the city who can provide a stable, nurturing home for children and young people.

There is a particular need of finding homes for children who are more than four years old, who have siblings and those children with additional needs.

It comes after it was revealed that around 900 foster families are needed to plug the shortage of homes for children in need of fostering.

As reported on Saturday an appeal has now been launched in Hampshire after it was revealed that 13 per cent of carers had left the service, mainly through retirement.

In a bid to attract more people to become adopters Southampton City Council is organising an information evening tomorrow at the Civic Centre to encourage prospective parents whilst potential adopters will have the chance to speak to staff to find out more information.

Councillor Mark Chaloner, Southampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Safeguarding, said: “We urgently need new adopters to come forward from Southampton and the surrounding area. To me adopters are real heroes who take on a huge but ultimately challenging and rewarding responsibility.

“We know that children have a significantly better chance in life if they are able to live in a safe and stable family environment and this is why it is so important that we continue to recruit more adopters.

“We treat all enquiries fairly, provide full training and offer on-going support. Adopters can come from a variety of backgrounds or domestic circumstances from young couples and experienced parents to single people and same-sex couples. So if you are considering adoption I would urge you to get in contact and come along to our event tomorrow.”

 

The adoption event tomorrow runs from 6pm to 8pm at the Civic Centre in Southampton. You will need to register your attendance in advance by calling 0800 5 19 18 18 or by completing the online enquiry form available on bit.ly/1yAblp6

 

Can you adopt?

Single people can adopt, whatever their gender.

Adopters need to be over 21 but there is no upper age limit. Whether you are heterosexual, lesbian or gay is not a factor in your right to adopt. Your financial circumstances and employment status will always be considered as part of an adoption assessment, but low income, being unemployed or employed do not automatically rule you out.

If you have a criminal caution or conviction for offences against children or certain sexual offences against adults then you will not be able to adopt but, with the exception of these specified offences, a criminal record will not necessarily rule you out. Having children of your own (of any age) will certainly not exclude you from adopting, whether they are living at home with you or have grown up. Smoking will not necessarily rule you out from adopting. Consideration will be given to this and to all health- and lifestyle-related issues.

Being disabled should not automatically exclude anyone from becoming an adopter and it is widely recognised that disabled people can often provide a very loving home for a child.

The aim for everyone in the adoption system is to find loving families for each child in need of a happy future, even if there is not a perfect ethnic match.