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Adoption Matters is proud to support the latest You Can Adopt nationwide campaign ‘Every Day is Everything’. A reminder that everyday moments can mean everything to a child who needs a family.
REPORT WARNS ‘ADOPTION GAP’ COULD LEAVE ENOUGH FAMILIES FOR JUST 13% OF CHILDREN BY 2030
A deepening ‘adoption gap’ means there are fewer than half the adopters needed[1], with shocking new projections warning there may only be enough families to meet 13% of demand by 2030.[2]
A new report from Adoption England has warned that, by 2030, there may only be enough approved adoptive families to meet 13% of the need from children seeking a permanent home, if registrations decline further. However, the report shows that if adopter registrations returned to the levels achieved just a few years ago, permanent homes could be found for nearly 1,000 more children by 2030. The findings come as a new campaign urges more people to come forward and consider adoption to help turn the tide.
The analysis highlights a growing gap between the number of children needing to be adopted and the number of prospective adopters coming forward. Currently, there are around 1,600 more children in need of adoption than there are approved adopters available to adopt them. This has increased by 52% in the past five years, meanwhile the number of approved adopters has fallen by 46%[5] – raising concerns that more children could spend more time seeking a permanent family in the years ahead.
Children in need of adoption spend an average of 646 days waiting for a permanent home since entering care. For children, these delays are not just numbers on a page. They are days of childhood, valuable days that could have been spent with the stability, security and sense of belonging that a permanent family can provide.
To highlight the impact of these delays, Adoption Matters is proud to support You Can Adopt new campaign, Every Day is Everything, demonstrating how these outcomes can be changed, if more prospective adopters take the first step in their adoption journey.
The campaign centres around a new film that uses the power of numbers to tell real stories of adoption. Adoptive families, experts and well-known supporters – including former Paralympian and adopted individual Ellie Simmonds OBE, adoptive mother and daughter duo Roxy and Judy Wilson from BBC’s The Traitors, and Post Adoption Social Worker and former Love Island winner Sanam Fagan (née Harrinanan) – share the numbers that define their everyday family lives, before the film reveals the harder-hitting numbers behind the growing need for more adopters.
Adoption Matters adopters Heather and Dan, welcomed their son into their family when he was 16 months old. They are a blended family: Heather has two teenage daughters, and Dan has played a significant role in their lives. They began exploring adoption after realising that growing their family biologically wasn’t the right path for them. Heather is keen to raise awareness that all different families can adopt, they are working parents and Dan has additional health needs.
“When Dan and I got together, my girls were three and seven and he was very involved and is very involved in their lives as a parent figure. But he’s not their Dad, they’ve got a Dad, and he’s very involved in their lives too. I always knew that I didn’t want to have any more birth children, Dan wouldn’t have been able to have children without IVF anyway due to his Cystic Fibrosis.
Dan is amazing with the girls and it just felt right for us to explore adoption as we knew so many children were waiting for a family”.
Adoption has transformed family life in so many positive ways. Heather’s daughters embraced their new little brother, each forming a unique bond with him.
Heather is keen to raise awareness that working parents can adopt and not rule themselves out as they nearly did in the early days. Support from friends and/or family and flexibility will all be discussed during the adoption assessment.
The campaign aims to reassure potential adopters that they do not need to have everything perfectly in place before exploring adoption and that support is available throughout the process and beyond.
Some of the biggest barriers people face are concerns that they need to own their home, fit a traditional idea of an adoptive parent, or have everything figured out before coming forward. In reality, adoption agencies are looking for people who can provide a safe, stable and loving home.
Susy White, Adoption Matters Chief Executive said:
“Behind every statistic is a child waiting for the chance to belong. The longer children wait, the more precious time is lost. We hope this campaign encourages more people to explore adoption and discover the life-changing impact they can have on a child’s future. We know there are individuals and families who could offer a safe, loving home, and our message is simple: don’t rule yourself out. Adoption Matters is here to support people every step of the journey”.
We are hosting three information events for prospective adopters, details are:
Adopting a Baby or Toddler: Exploring Early Permanence Event – Thursday 16 September at 7pm
Meet the Adopter Event – Meet Qadeer who adopted three children – Tuesday 22 September at 7pm
General Adoption Information Event – Saturday 3 October at 10am
To find out more, download our free adoption guide here with all the details.
Statistics:
[1] At 31st March 2026, 2,060 children were recorded as actively family-finding, compared with around 640 approved families seeking a match. After allowing approximately for sibling groups, around 1,580 families were estimated to be needed: the available pool met approximately 41% of that need, leaving an estimated shortfall of around 940 families
[2] Based on an illustrative scenario projection showing potential effects of a 15% decline in adopter registrations by 2029-30 (Coram and Adoption England)
[3] Returning registrations to the 2021/22 level could generate around 990 additional placements by 2030 (Coram and Adoption England)
[4] Average number of days from the point of entering care to being placed with an adoptive family
[5]Approved adopters waiting to be matched with a child; this does not include approved adopters already matched
