PARENTS & CHILDREN TOGETHER (PACT) READING UK NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

Families urgently needed to adopt children of Black and mixed heritage - News from PACT

NEWS from PACT – 6th June 2025

EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 TUESDAY 10th JUNE 2025

Families urgently needed to adopt children of Black and mixed heritage

ADOPTION charity Parents And Children Together (PACT) has joined forces with voluntary adoption agencies across the UK to find more adoptive parents for children of Black and mixed heritage who are waiting for a family.

Children of Black and mixed heritage currently wait too long to be matched with a loving adoptive family - an average of just under one year* - and voluntary adoption agencies (VAAs) are urgently looking for people who can offer them a permanent and loving home.

Becoming a parent through adoption is a life-changing and deeply personal experience, and for those from certain ethnic backgrounds, it can come with unique considerations and perspectives.

PACT is among 21 VAAs from across the UK who have together created this new guide with warmth and understanding, drawing from the lived experience of adoptive parents who have already navigated this path. Some of those parents have adopted a child of similar ethnicity to their own, while others have welcomed a child of another heritage or culture into their family.

PACT’s Adoption Service Director Lorna Hunt said: “Statistics reveal that children of Black and mixed heritage are overrepresented in the care system and wait longer for an adoptive family than other children. We want to help change that and to raise awareness that the key attributes for adopting a child are providing a loving, safe, stable home.

“Contrary to many myths out there, factors such as occupation, salary and the size of someone’s home, are not important.

“We are excited to be part of this project sharing first hand, heartfelt experience and advice from families who have already adopted. We hope it will empower you to embrace the joy and fulfilment of adoption”.

Voluntary Adoption Agencies (VAAs) are specialists in finding families for children who wait the longest in care and do this through forging deep relationships with their local communities. They work in partnership with regional adoption agencies and local authorities across the country to find families for children waiting for a permanent home.

VAAs are independent, not-for-profit organisations dedicated to providing families with comprehensive lifelong support. Their services are designed to offer vital assistance both at the time of placement and throughout the child’s journey into the future.

Satwinder Sandhu, Chief Executive of the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) which represents VAAs across the country said: “Finding loving homes for children of Black and other diverse ethnicities is a government priority, yet there are surprisingly few resources available for people who might be able to adopt these children – particularly resources tailored to prospective adopters from diverse communities.

"This guide simply amplifies the voices of adopters who’ve walked the path, offering insight, honesty and hope to others who may be able to change a child’s life.

"The guide is also a symbol of our aspirations for these children. It reflects our belief that no child should wait longer than their white peers to be adopted, by parents who embrace that child’s cultural identity and find joy in keeping that heritage alive - especially when there is not a common shared ethnicity.”

Download a copy of the advice guide at https://www.pactcharity.org/adoption/adoption-stories/diverse-ethnicities/

To find out more about adopting with PACT visit https://www.pactcharity.org/adoption/you-can-adopt/

To find other VAAs visit https://cvaa.org.uk/agency-finder/

Notes to Editor

The latest data shows there are 2,820 children waiting to be adopted from care. Children of Black and mixed heritage wait on average 345 days from the date of their placement order to adoption. *Source: https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/asg-q3-2024-2025-headline-measures/

Contact:

For more information, any interview requests or questions, please contact:

Emma Owen, Head of Communications and Engagement

Emma.owen@pactcharity.org | 0118 402 1686

About PACT

PACT’s mission is to build adoptive families and empower women, children and parents to embrace a positive future. 

Parents And Children Together (PACT) has been changing lives since 1911. 

PACT provides adoption services across southern and central England. It creates families by recruiting, assessing and approving people who want to become parents through adoption and matches them with children looking for their permanent, loving home. PACT provides specialist adoption support to all its families for life. 

PACT is one of the leading adoption charities in the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) in terms of placing children with loving families. In 2024–2025 we placed 84 children with 55 PACT adoptive families through its adoption services. PACT’s adoption services were rated outstanding by Ofsted in all areas in 2014, 2017 and 2023.

PACT provides bespoke adoption support packages in the form of therapeutic support, counselling, advice, training, virtual events and support in education. In 2024–2025 156 families were supported by PACT’s adoption support team.

3,954 parents, caregivers and professionals were members of our online support platform CATCH - Children And Trauma Community Hub.

PACT supports and empowers women who face multiple disadvantages to make positive changes to their lives through its award-winning Alana House Community Project. 

Alana House uses an innovative holistic approach to support women by empowering them to take control of their lives, make informed decisions and improve their life chances. In 2024-2025 242 women have accessed support at Alana House.

PACT supports children affected by domestic abuse and their non-abusing parent through its Bounce Back 4 Kids programme. BB4K uses therapeutic techniques to break the cycle of domestic abuse, raise self-esteem and provide ways for children to explore and express their feelings safely. In 2024 - 2025 the BB4K project directly supported 158 children and 284 parents.

PACT is a non-profit making charity that relies on fundraising and donations to be able to provide its vital trauma-informed support to families, women and children.

About CVAA

The Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) is a UK-wide membership organisation that champions and supports the voluntary adoption sector to ensure adopted children, young people, and adults lead happy fulfilling lives in loving families.

It does this by using the expertise of VAAs to achieve positive change for children, advocating for them in national forums and drawing on their vast experience of adoption to facilitate the development and sharing of best practice across the adoption system.

Emma Owen (she/her)

Head of Communications and Engagement

Usual Working Days | Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

Parents And Children Together | 7 Southern Court, South Street, Reading, RG1 4QS

Phone: 0118 402 1686

Registered Charity| 285214

Building and strengthening families since 1911

­­­­­­ 

The information transmitted is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material.

If you have received an email in error please delete all copies of it from your systems. Any use of, or any action relying upon, information in an email by persons other than the intended recipient is prohibited. Although PACT scans incoming and outgoing emails and email attachments for viruses we cannot guarantee a communication to be free of all viruses nor accept any responsibility for viruses.

Although PACT monitors incoming and outgoing emails for inappropriate content, we cannot be held responsible for the views or expressions of the author. The views expressed may not necessarily be those of PACT and PACT cannot be held responsible for any loss or injury resulting from the contents of a message.

The Oxford Diocesan Council for Social Work Incorporated, whose working name is Parents and Children Together, is a Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (No. 1636098) and a Registered Charity (No. 285214), whose Registered Office is 7, Southern Court, South Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4QS.