Emily Graves spoke with Gemma Gordon-Johnson from First4Adoption about the need for more people to adopt in the UK and getting rid of the myths surrounding religious people adopting.

Gemma Gordon-Johnson

More than half (55% or over 2 million people) in England who say they are 'certain' or 'very likely' to adopt a child describe themselves as 'actively practising a religion', according to research carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and published by national adoption information service First4Adoption. There are more than 4,600 children in England currently waiting to be adopted and although the rate of adoptions has risen 15% recently, many more adopters are needed. However, many religious people don't come forward to adopt because of myths about who can adopt, claim First4Adoption and Home for Good - a church-based campaign to promote adoption and fostering.

Emily Graves spoke with Gemma Gordon-Johnson, the Head of Service at First4Adoption, to find out more.

Emily: So first of all, Gemma, what is First4Adoption?

Gemma: First4Adoption is an information service for anybody interested in adopting a child in England. It was set up in January 2012. It was set up firstly as an information line and then our website went live in April 2013. It's run by a group of charities, so it's Coram Children's Legal Centre, Adoption UK and Coram and it's funded and supported by the Department for Education.

Emily: What was the reason for setting it up?

Gemma: The reason for setting it up is the need for more adopters to come forward in England. At the moment there are more than 4600 children in England waiting to be adopted. And although the rate of adoption has risen to around 15% we are in need of many more adopters.

Emily: Since you've launched, how have you been making a difference?

Gemma: Since we launched we've obviously been setting up the service and we've had on average 135 people calling us every month wanting to know more about adoption, which is a positive sign. We've been created to bust some of those myths about adoption. There are lots of myths about adoption and one of them is around religious people not being able to adopt or having concerns that their religion may stop them from adopting, which is not the case. Some people think there are age limits to adoption, which there aren't; apart from the fact you have to be over 21, there is no upper age limit. We've been the first point of call for people thinking about adoption, a place where they can come and get the correct information and I think that's really been our main selling point, that you can come here and you will find out the absolute truth in terms of adoption.

Emily: So how does adoption make a difference?

Gemma: It's providing a loving, secure home for a child who's had a difficult start in life and providing them with that permanency.

Emily: There's been a piece of research that has showed that religious people are most likely to adopt, but are actually held back by a myth that they can't. So tell us a little bit more about this.

Gemma: Absolutely. Some research has been done by the Department for Education and it shows that around 55% of people in England who say that they're certain or very likely to adopt a child describe themselves as actively practising a religion. So that shows that there are a high number of people that could potentially become adopters in England that have a faith. What we're saying to people is there is no barrier in terms of faith and it isn't a barrier to adoption and actually, if that's something they're concerned about don't let that be a concern and do come forward and contact us.

Emily: What has the reaction been, particularly from this people group?

Gemma: I think sometimes they think that they may get a negative reaction and we're just encouraging people to say actually that's not the case any more. The Government has made many changes to adoption and there's a new process now involved which came in in July of last year. There are three criteria for adoption: you need to be over 21; you need to be habitual in the UK, so this needs to have been your permanent home for 12 months; and you need to have had no serious convictions. And that's it: so it's basically saying to people we want ordinary people to come forward to do this extraordinary thing that is adoption.