#YouCanAdopt campaign encourages people to consider adopting brothers and sisters

A new nationwide campaign, #YOUCANADOPT, has launched to encourage those considering adoption to think about adopting brothers and sisters together.

Latest figures show there are currently 2,030 children waiting to be adopted in England. Of those, approximately 44% are in family groups of two or more. Groups of children wait an average of 17 months to be adopted, which is 36% longer (135 days more) than individual children. More than half of these groups (56%) even wait more than 18 months for their new family.

New research released as part of the campaign explores adopting brothers and sisters and the benefits of keeping family groups together. It shows that a key motivation of those wanting to adopt is to extend, or to start, a family (58%). Furthermore, 62% of parents who adopted just one child now believe they could have adopted brothers and sisters.

The biggest worry around adopting a family group of children is that people don’t have a big enough house or enough money to adopt brothers and sisters. However, financial support may be available to those who choose to adopt brothers and sisters. The advantage also is that multiple children can share a bedroom until they are older.

While there are challenges, 88% of parents that adopted brothers and sisters say the positives outweigh any challenges. Furthermore, 61% acknowledge that adopting children with their brothers and sisters has been the most beneficial factor in their child’s adoption journey.

To find out more and begin your journey to grow your family, visit www.youcanadopt.co.uk/brothersandsisters, or check our handy Agency Finder to get in touch with your nearest voluntary adoption agency.