Who are the children waiting for adoptive families?
Most of them are in the care of their local authority and are currently living with foster carers. The local authority has to make every effort to return the child to their birth family if at all possible. But if this is not an option because the family can not care for them, or the child would not be safe at home, adoption or permanent fostering may be the best plan. Many children up for adoption are of school age and over half of them are in groups of brothers and sisters who need to be placed together. Sadly some groups of brothers and sisters are split up because no suitable family comes forward for them. Some children available for adoption have physical and/or mental disabilities, and some – perhaps because of neglect while in the womb or in their early years – have developmental problems. In contrast to the past when abortion was illegal, contraception was unavailable and enormous stigma was attached to unmarried mothers, very few babies are now available for adoption, particula
