Black Adoption Project

Adoption in London’s Black community

London is rich in culture and diversity and has a proud Black community who have been providing loving homes for London’s Black children in need of adoption for many years. We celebrate the commitment, love and support they have for their children.

Prior to and since our formation as Adopt London Regional Adoption Agencies, we’ve been aware of long-standing and persistent challenges in recruiting enough Black adoptive parents, and the impact of this on Black children in need of adoption. Black and mixed Black ethnicity children who are adopted do not move into an adoptive family as quickly as other children, impacting how early in life they can begin to settle and build the new attachments and relationships that will help them process the loss and trauma they may have experienced, and help them begin to thrive and fulfil their potential. Many Black children with a plan for adoption never go on to be adopted because the right adoptive family for them cannot be identified.

The Black Adoption Project is a partnership between four Regional Adoption Agencies (covering 24 London boroughs) and Laurelle Brown Training & Consultancy, working in collaboration with people with lived experience of Black adoption, and with Black communities in London.

To really improve the opportunities and outcomes for Black children, we need to identify, recognise and take every possible step to remove obstacles and provide the support that’s needed to Black adoptive parents before and after adoption. We believe that whilst some adoptive parents of non-Black racial and ethnic groups are strongly placed to adopt and support a Black child, and this is right for some children, ‘trans-racial’ adoption alone is not a solution to the disparities for Black children in the adoption system currently. We want to walk alongside and support parents of other racial identities and ethnicities who have adopted Black children, and ensure that we have the right support in place for all Black adopted children to thrive.

Key research findings

We are committed to learning through different forms of research, qualitative and quantitative. Our initial research is detailed in our Phase 1 Report. Our research evidences the disparities for Black children in the adoption system and pinpoints where these disparities are occurring. It also looks at the experiences of Black prospective adoptive parents, and Black community perceptions of adoption. Some of our key findings are:

• Black children who have a plan of adoption agreed by the court are much less likely than other children to go on to be adopted, and this often seems to be because suitable adoptive parents could not be found.
• Black children who are adopted wait much longer to move into their adoptive family.
• Black prospective adopters are more likely to drop out during the assessment process and not go on to adopt a child.

Some of the most significant barriers to prospective adoptive parents coming to adopt are financial factors, negative experiences or perceptions of the assessment process, the need for more support after adoption (including culturally informed support), and the impact of racism.

Podcasts for the community

The Adoption Shared – Black Voices series of podcasts focus on adoption in the Black community. The podcasts are hosted by Eddie Elliott for We Are Family and in partnership with Adopt London. Adoptive parents, people who have been adopted and adoption professionals share their experiences in this unique series. Click the link for the Black Voices podcasts – sharing the joys and challenges of adoption in the Black community.

Black Ballad, a UK based lifestyle initiative for Black women host this podcast featuring five Black British women all talking about adoption, each from their own perspective. This podcast – The Realities of the Adoption Process and how we can better centre Adoptees – explores what it is like adopting a child, and how an adult adoptee wants to ensure the focus remains on the children and people who are adopted. This recording is with thanks to all the strong women who enabled this podcast to take place, from the initial concept in partnership with Adopt London, to our amazing speakers, right through to the production team at Black Ballad.