The children's charity Barnado comments (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12258379) that interracial adoptions are being resisted and blocked by adoption gatekeepers, and that numbers of children being adopted has to rise dramatically. Keeping children in care is, according to research, the greatest social, educational and economic disadvantage a child can have. I have written about this at http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/872.
My wife and I tried to adopt in the 1970s, asking for any child of any ethnicity up to the age of 8. We were passed fit after a range of unreasonable demands which we bore stoically. For example, having rushed home from work and tidied up for the social worker, we were accused of being houseproud, and not to forget that children are messy.
The point of this blog is to say that despite being willing and suitable adopters, no child was found for us over a five year period. On having to move jobs and house, that would have required us to start again with a different authority, and we gave up, being then too old at 40 to be considered. So, two or three 'looked after' children in care missed out on having a caring home. We also have missed out on having grandchildren, but that is another story.
1 comment:
I know that child would have been the happiest and most cared for child on earth.Where does the blame lay for depriving a child of a stable and happy home?
Post a Comment