Children under-two are placed with foster parents who have been approved as adopters. Should the courts decide it is in the child’s best interest to be adopted, they are able to stay permanently with their foster parents.
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Will you help a young child like Evan find a stable, secure home?
Your gift today can help a young child like Evan. Due to severe mental health problems, Evan’s birth parents weren’t able to meet his most basic needs. He had to be removed from their care for his safety. Evan was just a few days old when he was placed with Chris and Angela through Concurrent Planning.
It is never an easy journey for Concurrent Planning carers. For months, while Evan was in foster care Chris and Angela had to maintain regular contact, three times a week, between Evan and his birth parents. They were also building an ever closer bond with Evan, knowing that the court was yet to decide if he would need to be adopted.
Coram prepares parents thoroughly for these practical and emotional challenges. An experienced family support worker is always on hand to offer advice and support.
Angela recalls how she felt during the process;
“There was one moment when Evan wasn’t sleeping and I was lying on the bed pretending to sleep to help him drift off. He reached out and touched my face and I thought, I love this baby so much”.
After a year the judge decided that it wasn’t safe for Evan to return to his birth parents. Chris and Angela were able to adopt him and officially become his family. Unlike many adopted children Evan wasn’t starting from square one. Chris and Angela already knew him, understood him and loved him.
“It was when we had the adoption order we started calling ourselves Mummy and Daddy, instead of our first names. From that moment all the walls came down really”.
Today, Evan is a very happy little boy who is outgoing and friendly. He was spared having to deal with broken attachments due to several changes of foster carer. Evan was given the settled start he needed to offer him the best possible chance in life.
Will you help another young child like Evan today?
Sadly many babies like Evan face a disruptive journey through the care system. Not only can this be hugely unsettling and but it damages their development.
Please make your gift today and help Coram to train potential adopters to offer a safe, stable and loving home to vulnerable children like Evan.
Names, images and some details have been changed to protect the identity of the young people we help