The report Barriers to Adoption 2012 was commissioned by adoption and fostering charity PACT ahead of National Adoption Week (5 – 11 November) to examine the misconceptions held about the process.
The survey was carried out in the wake of Government plans to speed up adoption and cut bureaucracy in the system.
There are more than 7,000 children on a placement order and waiting to be adopted in the UK, but adoption rates have fallen by 17 per cent in the last decade.
Views were sought from those at different stages of the process, including those who had considered adoption in the past, but had not pursued it, those who are going through it and parents who have successfully adopted children.
Around a third of respondents who had initially been interested in adoption did not go on to adopt because they were concerned about the nature and timescale of the process.
On average respondents thought that it would take 19 months from their initial phone call to approval and then 16 months from approval to being placed with a child, nearly twice as long as the actual average length of time.
This differs greatly from the current Government target of nine months from initial phone call to approval and PACT’s target of six months.
The charity, which works with families in London and the south-east, said it takes on average 18 months to arrange adoptions from initial inquiry to adopting a baby or child.
Some respondents perceived that the process would be ‘invasive’, ‘longwinded’ and ‘arduous’. There were also concerns about the intrusive nature of the process and that prospective adopters would be ‘judged’ by the social worker.
However, those who had gone on to become adoptive parents were often surprised that it had been more straightforward than they had imagined.
Among those who made enquiries about adoption, but then changed their minds or put the process temporarily on hold, the main reasons given were that their current lifestyle was incompatible with adoption (31 per cent); the adoption process and timings (31 per cent); decided to try to conceive or become pregnant (25 per cent); and that their partner or immediate family were reluctant to adopt.
Twenty-five per cent of those questioned wrongly believed that you have to be under 40 to adopt a child.
Other concerns raised were that it would be impossible to adopt a baby or toddler and that adopted children would have behavioural problems.
There was also little understanding about how prospective adoptive parents were matched with children.
Prospective adopters were anxious about how they would parent a traumatised child and how they would bond with them.
The survey was based on 260 responses to an online questionnaire and seven in-depth interviews.
Jan Fishwick, PACT chief executive, said, ‘This research highlights some key concerns of prospective and existing adopters, and we see that myths and fears are prevalent, especially about the process and concerns about a lack of information or care over matching adopters with children.
‘However the adoption process is becoming more efficient and the timescales, certainly for PACT, are well under two years from initial enquiry to a child moving in with our families.
‘We also know more about the effects of neglect and abuse on young children, and how to provide attachment-based parenting than ever before. PACT adopters are offered specific training to help them to bond with their children, which reduces the likelihood of disruptive behaviour.
‘Furthermore PACT’s social workers are highly experienced in carefully matching adopters with their children. They insist on discovering and reviewing all the information available on any child, so that everyone approaches any adoption placement with full knowledge and they carefully discuss and prepare our adopters for the future challenges which are inevitable when a child is adopted.’