Coram, which runs three dedicated adoption services in London, Cambridgeshire and the East Midlands, has supported LGBT people to adopt for many years. In 2017-18, a quarter of children placed for adoption by Coram were matched and placed with same-sex couples.
Alice Noon, Head of Adoption at Coram Capital said:
We have a long history – going back many years – of preparing and supporting LGBT families for adoption. It is really rewarding to see children who have had a difficult start in life thrive, and we want to encourage more people from the LGBT community to adopt – whether they are single or with a long-term partner, what matters most is that they are ready to provide a permanent, loving home for a vulnerable child.
We are here to guide adopters through the life-changing process of becoming parents, and we offer support for all families who adopt with us, for as long as they need us.”
James and Alexander adopted their daughter through concurrent planning with Coram in 2017. Concurrent planning enables a child in care under the age of two to find foster carers who are ready and willing to adopt them later if the courts decide they cannot live with their birth family.
James said:
We fostered our daughter from when she was three days old and then we were approved to adopt her eight months later. We felt concurrent planning fitted in with our ethos, it’s all about what is best for the child, and we felt this was absolutely right for us. Our social worker was amazing, supporting us through the whole process and made us feel confident all the way through.
It is impossible to express in words how much our daughter means to us. Every single day she makes us feel our hearts will explode with joy and we love her more than we ever imagined was humanly possible. She has an amazing personality and is very happy and confident. Adopting her has been the best thing that has ever happened to us.
Coram is encouraging anyone interested in adoption to come along to one of their free monthly information events, taking place in London, the East Midlands and Cambridgeshire, to find out more about the adoption process and ask our team any questions. The info events will provide information about mainstream adoption through Coram as well as concurrent planning.
UK network New Family Social runs LGBT Adoption & Fostering Week every March to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prospective parents to find out more about the adoption and fostering processes.
Find a free adoption information event near you
Read our five facts about LGBT adoption and fostering