Western Trust highlights need for adoptive parents as part of National Adoption Week
The Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) is supporting National Adoption Week (16 – 22 October 2017) by highlighting the need for adoptive placements for children in need of a forever family.
This year’s campaign focuses on the need to find the right adopters for sibling groups. Within the last year the Western Trust have placed a significant number of children for adoption and urgently need to recruit more adoptive parents for children who are becoming available for adoption in the near future. We also need adoptive parents for children over four years, children with disabilities and sibling groups where one of the children could be older possibly over five years.
Inviting people to come along to the information events to support National Adoption Week Catherine McKevitt, Western Trust Service Manager Adoption and Permanency Team said: “An information event have been organised on Friday 10 November 2017 at Strabane Enterprise Centre at 1.30pm. We would encourage people to come along to find out more about becoming an adoptive parent. Many adoptive parents have found taking this first step the hardest and this session will provide people with general information about the process and children available for adoption. Adoption and Permanency Social workers will be on hand to answer any individual questions people may have about adoption.”
She added: “The world of adoption is changing and for some children, temporary care is needed until it is possible for them to be returned to their families however there is a growing number of children unfortunately that are unable to live with their birth families. Adoption is a challenging but very rewarding route to becoming a parent. For children unable to return to their families, adoption provides them with a sense of belonging and a family for life.
If you would like to find out more about adoption, please contact the Western Trust Adoption Team on:
Limavady, Londonderry and Strabane area: Roisin Lynch, Social Work Manager Adoption T: (028) 7131 4226 or email:[email protected]
Omagh and Fermanagh area: Anita Birney, Social Work Manager Adoption T: (028) 8283 5114 or email: [email protected]
Please visit the Regional Adoption and Fostering website on www.adoptionandfostering.hscni.net or telephone 0800 0720 137 for more information and support in considering adoption or fostering. You can also download information packs, read profiles of children waiting for a home and read how adoption has made a lasting difference to young people.