Huddersfield Town

The Club’s support follows an urgent adoption appeal, launched earlier this year by Kirklees Council, which saw the number of children awaiting adoption reduced by more than half. Since launching the appeal, numbers fell from around 90 in January, to 36 in September.

Latest figures from Kirklees also reveal that enquiries from prospective parents soared to its highest levels, up by more than 100% during 2012/13, compared to the same period the previous year. This year was also a record for Kirklees in terms of the number of approved new adopters and for children matched with families, with 34 new adopters approved and 47 children matched with adoptive families during 2012/13. 

With Huddersfield Town’s support, Kirklees Council is now looking to build on this success during National Adoption Week, by encouraging even more people to come forward and adopt.

Cllr Cath Harris, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said:  

“It is great news that more people than ever are making the decision to adopt. Although sadly many of the children in our care have experienced some degree of upheaval, we’ve seen time and again, the transformation in them once placed within a permanent and loving environment. 

“But with 36 children in Kirklees still in urgent need of adoption and with numbers set to continue rising both locally and nationally, we simply cannot afford to be complacent. One of our key aims has been to reduce the length of time it takes to approve new adoptive parents. The Government’s target is around eight months but we are consistently achieving our own target of six months. We also work closely with local authorities across the country to find the best possible match for both parent and child as quickly as possible. 

“Our foster carers do an amazing job but we will always need people who can provide forever homes and we hope that National Adoption Week will prompt even more people to do just that.”

Nigel Clibbens, Huddersfield Town’s Chief Executive, added:

“As a family-centred, community-oriented club, we are proud to play a part in raising awareness for what is a very important issue; one that we have highlighted over a sustained period of time. Encouraging even one person to adopt and helping to change the life of a young person for the better is a huge achievement and we hope that more people will be inspired to find out more during National Adoption Week.”