In the Greater Manchester area at any one time, there are around 50 boys and 50 girls between the ages of 2-8 who are waiting to be adopted. The average age nationally of a child who is placed with an adoptive family is 4 years 4 months.
In Wigan, we have very few babies who need an adoptive family, but we do have a large number of children over the age of 5. Most of these are boys and some hope to be adopted with their older or younger brothers or sisters. Realistically, a child is more likely to be placed with you quickly if you are prepared to consider adopting an older child or a child with learning or behavioural difficulties.
Boys aged 7 and over.
We have a large number of boys in this group awaiting adoptive placements. 10% of these are older than 12, 50% between the ages of 9 and 12, and 40% between 7 and 9 years old.
A significant proportion of children awaiting adoptive families have some form of disability. The word disability is a very general and non-specific description of a child's particular needs, but this group includes children who have significant educational and learning difficulties, children with cerebral palsy, children whose overall development has been seriously delayed and affected by their life experiences, children who have been brain damaged and as a result have multiple disabilities and children with sight and hearing loss.
This just gives you an idea of a small number of the wide range of disabilities that children may have. Over a period of time we have been responsible for children who experience a great range of differing disabilities and if you feel that you have any particular strengths or interests in offering an adoptive placement for a child with a disability not referred to here, we would still be very pleased to hear from you.
We have a significant number of children who need a family from the following cultural backgrounds:
As with the issue of disability, over a period of time we have had referred to us children from a much wider range of differing cultural origins and please do not be put off from approaching us if those children currently awaiting placement do not represent the make-up of your community.
Approximately 30% of children waiting for adoptive families are part of a family of brothers and sisters who need to be placed together in adoption. Over a period of time, we regularly have such groups referred to us, sometimes up to 4 or 5 children from one family needing to be placed together. Such placements are found and prove to be very successful and should you have a particular interest in wanting to care for brothers and sisters together we would be very pleased to hear from you.
