Are you gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or non-binary and living in Torbay? Have you ever thought about becoming a foster carer or adopting?

Torbay Council is supporting LGBT+ Fostering and Adoption Week (2 – 8 March 2020) and wants to remind people of who can foster or adopt. A number of drop in sessions are being held to promote fostering across Torbay.

LGBT+ Fostering and Adoption Week is a national initiative led by the charity New Family Social and aims to remind people that if you want to foster or adopt you can be from any background, gender or sexual orientation. The theme this year is ‘Why Not You?’ which aims to bust some myths that may prevent potential foster carers from coming forward – such as people who may not think they are eligible, for example if they are older or have a long term health condition.

Drop in events for LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week

DATE	VENUE	TIME
Thursday 5 March 2020	Union Square shopping centre, Torquay	10.30am to 4.30pm
Friday 6 March 2020	Paignton Library cafe	10.30am to 4.30pm
Saturday 14 March 2020	Brixham Library	10am to 12pm

Councillor Cordelia Law, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services for Torbay Council, said: “We are pleased to team up with New Family Social to support LGBT Fostering and Adoption Week and members of our fostering team and local foster carers will be on hand to speak to people at events during the week.

“There are currently 367 looked after children in Torbay and 79 fostering households, so we are always looking for more foster carers. The most important thing is that you are able to provide a loving home for our looked after children – nationally 1 in 7 adoptions in 2019 were to same-sex couples.”

Nancy Meehan, Director of Children’s Services for Torbay Council said: “There are a lot of myths around who can foster or adopt and it’s a really important opportunity to remind everyone that the most important thing is you want to support, love and provide some of our most vulnerable children with a safe home environment. You can foster or adopt if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. This is also the case if you are LGBT+ and single, are over 40, living with HIV, or have previously experienced mental health issues.”

“So if you’re thinking about fostering please get in touch with our fostering service to find out more – call 01803 207845 or email fostering@torbay.gov.uk”

Kath Drescher, Service Manager for Adopt South West, said: “Here in Adopt South West, we have some great LGBTQ+ parents, and with great parents come great families for our children.

We really look forward to welcoming more people into our Adopt South West family.

If you’ve been thinking about adopting, on your own, or with your partner, then we’d love to hear from you.”

Further information

More information on who can foster is available on the Fostering page Torbay Council website.

For those who want to adopt a child, this is managed through Adopt South West and you can find out more on the Adopt South West website or by calling 0345 155 1076 or emailing adoptsouthwest@devon.gov.uk

More information about the national campaign is on the New Family Social website.