Meet The Black Adoption Project Team
The Black Adoption Project is a partnership effort, led by Adopt London working in collaboration with Laurelle Brown Training and Consultancy. The Project works with people with diverse personal and professional experiences (including lived experiences of adoption as Black individuals), Adopt London staff and senior managers, community members, local authority leaders, and researchers and academics. Scroll down to meet the team.
Adopt London
The Project was started by four Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs) in London – known as Adopt London. Formed in 2019 and working together as a partnership, Adopt London North, Adopt London East, Adopt London South and Adopt London West recruit and assess people who want to adopt, and support children who need adoption and those whose lives are impacted by adoption in 24 London boroughs. Read more about the RAA here.
Lydia Samuel, representing the Adopt London Heads of Service (HOS) team says,
“Adopt London is responsible for identifying adoptive families for more Black and mixed Black heritage children than RAAs across the country, due to our London demographics. Early in our formation as RAAs in London we therefore agreed that this should be a priority area for us to focus on, recognising that change would be slow and take a long time to achieve, but being committed to learning from those with lived experiences and community perspectives to ensure that meaningful solutions can be found – not sticking plasters.
Through the years since the Project was first initiated, it has remained one of our top priorities as a partnership. We believe that we will achieve lasting change as long as we continue to be open about the barriers that our own systems often create for Black families, and the systemic racism that has to be actively battled.”
Laurelle Brown Training and Consultancy (LBTC)
LBTC is a specialist consultancy that supports child welfare organisations to develop fairer, more inclusive systems, services, and leadership for all children. They work with teams and leaders to understand and address inequalities, design new ways of working, and build cultures that value every child and family. With a diverse team bringing both lived experience and professional expertise across the child welfare sector, LBTC helps organisations respond to today’s complex challenges while working towards a more just and equitable future.
Laurelle Brown, CEO of LBTC says,
The Black Adoption Project (BAP) is a bold and vital initiative, and we have been proud to walk alongside it from the very beginning. As learning partners, we have helped shape its priorities and structures – from the Steering Committee to the Black Adoptive Parents Stakeholder Group – and continue to support the project team’s journey in turning learning into action.
Our role is to ensure the BAP listens to and engages with the wide range of voices involved, and that evidence and insights are used to drive real and lasting change. This work holds deep personal and professional meaning for us, and we are privileged to be part of an ambition that puts Black children firmly at the centre, improving experiences and outcomes while challenging the long-standing barriers that have harmed children, families and communities for too long.”
Charmaine Miller, Programme Lead
Charmaine has worked in the arena of adoption and fostering for over 30 years. Charmaine is passionate about children and their journey through the care system and adoption. She takes pride in supporting families who choose adoption as a positive way of creating their families – and is the founder of two Black Adopters support groups enabling her to hear the adopters’ experiences of their journey.
Charmaine says, ‘I enjoy working with people and building links within our community. I continue to ask myself – can we do better for Black children and young people, and families who choose adoption? Yes, we can!’
The Black Adoption Project Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is a representation of Black individuals with lived experience of adoption, professionals working in adoption, community members and our learning partner, whose role is to support the Project team through challenge and direction.
Meet Chloe and Francine, just two of our long-standing Steering Committee Members – just click their links.
Adoptive parent stakeholder group
The stakeholder group will provide: advice and guidance, challenge and scrutiny and insight and expertise. It will be a key group to share invaluable adopter insight and experience to shape and drive the Black Adoption Project (BAP). The Group is a key way by which the Black Adoption Project takes a collaborative approach to make change.
The role of the Adoptive Parent Stakeholder Group is to:
- Assist the project team in resolving specific issues and risks that may hinder project’s successful delivery
- Use adopter influence, insight and expertise to shape project design and direction and assist the project in achieving objectives.
- Challenge and scrutinise decisions, progress and outcomes of the project to ensure overarching aims are achieved.
- Foster collaboration between the project team, BAP steering committee , adopters and wider BAP groups.
Adoption England
Adoption England is the national organisation supporting Regional Adoption Agencies across England to work together to improve adoption practice. They have supported the Black Adoption Project through Department for Education grant funding, giving us additional capacity to run and evaluate some of our pilot and research projects. Adoption England is one of the mechanisms by which the Black Adoption Project share regular updates and resources with other RAAs nationally so that learning from the Project can be used in other areas.
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