LGBT+ Adoption
At Adopters for Adoption we’re committed to seeing the potential in all applicants and we actively encourage enquiries from a diverse range of people. We don’t make our decisions based on marital status, ethnicity, culture, age, health, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs but on your ability to offer a loving, stable home. You need to be able to stick by your adoptive child through the good times and the bad. You need to support and love them and help them overcome their troubled backgrounds, make sense of who they are and grow up to be safe and secure.
The Adoption and Children Act 2002
A change in law in allowed adoption orders to be granted to unmarried couples including same sex couples. Since that time, adoption agencies have been able to openly recruit and assess LGBT+ individuals and couples. Since then, there are now many more LGBT+ adopters and the numbers continue to increase year on year. The UK is now one of the world leaders in this respect, with 1 in 6 Adoptions in England in 2020 to same-sex couples.
Adopters for Adoption are looking for LGBT+ adopters
We’re committed to seeing the potential in all applicants and we actively encourage enquiries from a diverse range of people. We don’t make our decisions based on marital status, ethnicity, culture, age, health, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. Decisions are made on your ability to offer a loving, stable home for an adopted child.
LGBT Adoption Advantages
There are many benefits of LGBT+ adoption. Interestingly, encouraging research from a UK study looking into parenting by lesbian and gay adopters has helped to dispel myths showing that:
- The quality of parent-child relationships is just the same when children are adopted by same-sex couples compared to opposite-sex couples.
- Children’s psychological development and well-being is just the same when children are adopted by same-sex couples compared to opposite-sex couples.
- Same-sex adopters are more likely (than opposite-sex couples) to have come to adoption as their first choice.
- Many same-sex couples — certainly those offering themselves as adoptive parents — form relationships that are more stable than many opposite-sex marriages, thus giving adopted children a secure emotional home.
- Same-sex adopters felt well equipped to help children deal with difference and that children would have advantages growing up of being tolerant of difference in others.
- Children of same-sex parents don’t experience greater problems at school and in peer relationships compared to children of opposite-sex parents, and bullying and teasing is rare.
LGBT+ adoptions also give the child a chance to see what it is to overcome adversity. Unfortunately, life always comes with challenges. An LGBT+ adoption gives the child a foundation of what it means to overcome adversity from their parents’ own experiences. The goal of any adoptive parent should always be the safety and happiness of a child. Another goal is to give the child the tools they need to succeed in life. In addition, it has been proven that children raised in LGBT+ homes tend to be more open-minded. This allows the child to be more open-minded towards themselves and the people around them.
Adoption Requirements
When it comes to adoption requirements in the UK, there are just three criteria that need to be met to be considered for adoption. You need to:
- be at least 21 years old
- be living in the British Isles
- not to have been convicted or cautioned for certain criminal offences
We simply base our decisions on your ability to offer a loving, supportive home to an adopted child.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out more information or if you have any questions, please get in touch with our friendly enquiries team who will be happy to help. Click here to complete our online enquiry form, email us at contactus@adoptersforadoption.com or call us on 0800 5877 791.
