Did you see us on BBC’s The One Show?
Poet Lemn Sissay, who was in foster care and children’s homes as a child, presented a feature on the need for adopters to come forward for the many children waiting who are of Black or mixed ethnicity.
Lemn interviewed PACT social worker Rebecca Mukasa and also visited a pop-up information stand run by PACT’s adopter diversity recruitment officer Grace Gomez. He also spoke to parents Jody and Eddie who adopted their two sons through PACT.
PACT is trying to recruit people of all ethnicities who want to be parents through adoption. But there is a shortage of parents for Black children waiting in care.
Black children are over-represented in the care system, making up 7% of looked after children and 2% of those adopted compared to 5% of the population generally. They also often wait the longest to be adopted because of the low numbers of people coming forward to adopt who are Black or mixed ethnicity themselves.
Currently there are many children waiting for a permanent family of Black Caribbean, Black British and mixed White and Black Caribbean ethnicities. PACT is looking for people who would like to become a parent through adoption who these children can identify with culturally, visually and emotionally.
Lemn finished the feature with one of his poems:
Remember you were loved
As day loves night, and so
I held you one last time
And then for love let go
If you missed the episode, it will be on BBC iplayer until 3rd July.
