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Experiences of mixed race adopters
bnlb
April 19, 2017 14:50
Hi all- me and my husband have started stage one of the adoption process and are really excited about the speed that we are moving forward, Our SW has told us that we will be at panel by the end of Sept 17 which makes me so happy, but i suppose what im wondering is ... are their any couple put these ho have adopted mixed race children (white / black Caribbean, im mixed my self and my husband is black Caribbean and my husbands birth children are all mixed so we wnat our new addition to feel (as much as possible) physically similar to their siblings) who can tell him how long they waited to be matched with their child. I know it depends on lots of things, but we're always told that couples who want to adopt mix raced children generally dont wait that long. can any one confirm this or give me their experience. Me and my husband live in Nottingham and im also trying to find couples or people who we can relate to and share our experiences with if anyone out there is looking for the same. thanks BNLB
Marzipan
April 20, 2017 21:48
Hi BNLB, We are a different racial mix to you so am not sure whether this will be useful info or not. What we found out is that most of the children who need to be adopted tend to be white British. However although there are fewer children who are BME or mixed race, there are also fewer BME adopters. So the fact there may not be a huge number of black/mixed race or other BME children wouldn't necessarily be a problem because there would be fewer adoptive parents to match with them. We were told about Linkmaker which is where you can look at children all over the country and you will tend to get different areas or regions who may have more children from particular ethnicities. We were also told that sometimes you may get sibling groups where the children in the group may be different ethnicities from each other. I expect you already know most of that info but just thought I would reply. Wishing you all the best.
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Minnie2
August 24, 2017 00:21
Hi Bnlb, It's been a while since I have been in this area of the board, as it is usually less active that the others! So I am mixed and my husband if Black Caribbean, therefore the same mix as you and your husband! We are currently going though the process for a 2nd time and very excited! The first time round we found that there were a lot of mixed race and 'black' children and didn't wait long for a match and then for our little monster to come home!
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roxy1
August 24, 2017 01:26
Hi The same day we came out of our successful matching panel meeting we were asked immediately if we were willing to be matched with mixed African/ White 2 year old twins. I'm black African and my husband is White. It transpired that ss were just waiting for us to be approved and they had already hypothetically matched us with the twins during the home study process but couldn't ask properly until after the matching panel meeting
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roxy1
August 24, 2017 01:35
Sorry I meant approval panel not matching panel
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newmum5
August 29, 2017 11:21
Hi We are a mixed race family, me black, husband white and 2nd time adopters. First time round we did not wait at all. Knew about DS before approval panel. This time round waited 5 months and DS was from another area.
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safia
August 29, 2017 11:47
We are mixed race - but Asian / white - the difficulty with mixed race adoptions depends on how close a match the SWs are looking for - country of origin / ethnic group / language / religion etc. - and this may depend on how difficult the child is seen to family find for - age / how long they have been looking / sibling group / special needs etc. We adopted a long time go but we found a child ourselves in one of the adoption papers whilst going through assessment and it all went through very smoothly. You will find a match I'm sure - but lots to think about along the way! Good luck!
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Barbados Girl
August 29, 2017 19:57
Hi, we are a mixed couple. Husband black British/Caribbean, me white British. First time we were linked with our now son within six weeks of approval (in 2014), matched within three months and he was home two weeks later. He is dual heritage- black/white. We are going through the approval process again at the moment. Our approval panel is due in October and we have already been sort of provisionally linked with a dual heritage baby. We are meeting with the family finders in a couple of weeks. I think the situation continues to be that there are a disproportionately high number of bme children who are waiting for a family versus approved bme adopters. So, the wait is not usually long for bme adopters, in my experience. Good luck, hope the process is going well.
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CantThinkOfAUserNameThatILike
September 10, 2017 19:26
Hi@Barbados Girl. How is your linking going? I'm a BME adopter but have said that I would consider BME or Dual heritage. Can I ask what do you class as not a long wait?
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Maggiemoo123
September 10, 2017 20:19
Single adopter here. I was matched with my boy when he was 10 months, immediately after approval panel! He is white/Caribbean. Being single helped but they did explore mixed heritage couples too x
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CantThinkOfAUserNameThatILike
September 10, 2017 23:24
Wow that was quick Maggie. How are you getting on?
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