Why Children Need Adopting

Children need adopting for a variety of reasons, and placing a child for adoption is a decision that takes time and is taken very seriously.

The starting point for all decisions regarding children is that, where possible and safe, children should grow up in their birth families. If it is difficult for a family to look after a child, Hampshire’s Children’s Services offer a range of support to help where and when it is needed, either directly or through partnerships or community resources.

Not all families are able to stay together though. In some circumstances children are moved from situations of abuse and neglect for their own safety. In some circumstances it is possible for children to return home in the long term after considerable work with the family to help them keep the children safe. In other situations it becomes apparent during assessment and working with the family that it is not in the best interests of the child to return home.

In a few cases, birth parents feel that they are not able to look after their child, or that they are not able to be parents, and come to the very difficult decision that they wish their child to be placed for adoption. This could be either from birth or during the early years of a child’s life.

All of these children need and are entitled to love, attention, understanding and the security of a permanent family life. Most children who are placed for adoption will spend some time living in the care of foster families while an adoptive family is found for them.