Club joins forces with Kirklees Council
Huddersfield Town has given its support to Kirklees Council in its urgent appeal asking people across Yorkshire and beyond to become a ‘forever family’ for one or more of the 90 children in its care who are hoping to be adopted.
With around 4,000 children in the UK waiting to be adopted at any one time, adoption is under immense pressure due to year-on-year increases in the number of children going into care.
In Kirklees the number of children awaiting adoption has risen almost three-fold in recent years, up from 33 in 2009 to around 90 in 2012. This increasing trend is reflected nationally and is due largely to heightened public awareness of child protection issues following several high-profile cases in recent years.
In the last two years the Council’s adoption team is on track to have successfully placed 60 children with adoptive families locally and across the country, but more families are urgently needed to meet the ever-increasing number of children coming into its care system on a daily basis.
Cllr Cath Harris, Cabinet member for Children’s Services, said:
“Adoption is one of the best ways of providing a new family for children who cannot be brought up by their own parents. With more children than ever going into care, the need for adoptive parents has never been more critical, which is why we are appealing to people from Yorkshire and further afield to come forward.
“Many of the children in need of adopting have been unable to remain with their birth family, because of neglect, abuse or perhaps just because their parents are unable to cope. Some may have suffered traumatic experiences in their short lives, others have learning difficulties or health problems.
“These children have so much to offer and all they are asking is to be part of a family. As well as being hugely rewarding for a parent, the benefits of adoption to a child are immense. By being given the chance to grow up in a permanent, loving environment they stand the best chance of overcoming many of these issues and ultimately, thrive.
“We work closely with local authorities across the country to find the best possible match for both parent and child as quickly as possible and without delay. We’ve also significantly reduced the timescales for approving new adoptive parents. The Government target is eight months, but we’re already consistently achieving our own target of six months.
“There are no blanket rules for adoption. Don’t count yourself out because of age, marital status or sexuality. It doesn’t matter whether you own or rent your home, whether you work full time or not at all – we assess everyone on their own merits and what’s important is that we really need people who can offer a child or sibling group a loving and supportive family for life.”
Huddersfield Town Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens added:
“We consider ourselves to be very much a Community Club and a “family” club and as such we are delighted to be able to back Kirklees Council’s adoption campaign.
“The number of children awaiting adoption is increasing and we hope we can do our part in helping to raise awareness of the need for adoptive parents.
“Even if you are not 100% sure whether adoption is for you, we’d encourage you to get in touch with Kirklees Council’s team and find our more.”
The campaign, which runs between 29 January and 31 March, is being supported by press adverts, and an outdoor and digital advertising campaign. There will be opportunities to hear real life stories, both from people who have adopted one or more children and find out about some of the Kirklees children who are currently awaiting adoption.
If you think can open your heart and your home to somebody who just wants to be part of a family, call 0800 028 3001, or visit www.kirklees.gov.uk/adopting for more information about adopting one or more of the Kirklees 90.
