They say a problem shared is a problem halved and that’s exactly what’s happened now three of Greater Manchester’s adoption services have teamed up to tackle adoption numbers.
Teams from Tameside, Trafford and Stockport have teamed up, alongside Cheshire East, and have increased the number of approved adopters across the four regions by a whopping 50%.
The Four 4 Adoption campaign has allowed each authority to pull together and encourage a diverse cross section of people in a wider area to become adopters.
The campaign launched in June with a heart-wrenching TV commercial of a cartoon brother and sister living in their dream home with their dream parents.
The message of the commercial suddenly hits the audience when the children fade away with the girl saying ‘That could be me, but like thousands of other children I am still waiting for a home to call my own’.
Thousands of children in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire area need families and by working together the four authorities have made huge strides in tackling this.
It’s a simple enough solution – the more approved adopters there are, the likelier it becomes that a child will find the loving and caring home that they deserve.
Since the four local authorities teamed up there have been significant improvements in adopters coming forward and this has not gone unnoticed.
The Four 4 Adoption campaign was recognised for its innovative work when it picked up the Local Authority Adoption Service of the Year gong at the National Adoption Week Awards 2013 in November.
Councillor Wendy Meikle, Stockport Council’s Executive Member for Children and Young People explained how much the award meant when their hard work was recognised.
She said: “I’m delighted that this highly successful initiative has been recognised by winning this much sought after national award.
“The recruitment campaign was an excellent example of effective partnership working with our neighbouring local authorities.”
Since winning the award the quartet has been contacted by representatives from adoption agencies around the country all wanting to know the secret to their winning collaborative formula.
The number of children awaiting an adoption placement is highest in the North West than any other region in England and despite a huge improvement there still remains a significant deficit between children in need of a new family and available adopters.
It is because of this that Councillor Meikle is urging anyone interested in adopting to come forward asif they are approved they can change a child’s life forever.
She said: “There are no blanket bans in adoption so please don’t think we’ll turn you down because you’re over 50, single, or don’t own your own home.
“What we really need are people who can offer a child or sibling group a loving and supportive family for life.
“People who can help a child recover from the reasons why they came into care and can help them go on to thrive in a new family.”
Picture courtesy of terriseesthings via Flickr, with thanks
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