SSAFA supporting Forces families looking to adopt

The military lifestyle is not a reason to discriminate against Forces personnel wishing to adopt a child, says SSAFA. The Armed Forces charity brought the issue to light for National Adoption Week 2016, which ran from 17th to 23rd of October.

It seems that there are misconceptions about the type of lifestyle experienced by military families, which are used against them when it comes to choosing adoptive parents. SSAFA is helping anyone serving or who has served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force to adopt if they are having trouble.

In 2015, the charity placed 27 children with adoptive parents who were in the Armed Forces. It firmly believes that military families provide a great environment for children, especially as the Forces offer so much support to those who are serving.

The SSAFA has a specialist adoption service, which is the only national adoption service that caters exclusively to Forces personnel. It is encouraging more families who wish to adopt to sign up in order to receive specialist support.

One family that has already seen how great the service can be is Georgie and her husband Spencer, a warrant officer in the Army. The couple discovered quite early on that they were unable to have children and contacted two local authorities about adoption options. However, it seemed that Spencer's job was a problem and they were rejected as suitable parents. The couple was then told about SSAFA and so contacted the charity for help with adopting. 

Georgie said: “SSAFA’s specialised adoption service was a godsend for us, we’ve been very lucky. Our SSAFA social worker booked us into a preparation course and introduced us to a couple from the military who had adopted a little boy. They were able to chat about their experiences and give us lots of advice, which was really helpful.”

According to Jill Farrelly, adoption service team manager at SSAFA, many people seem to believe that Forces families cannot provide a stable home because of their postings and that they may have views about discipline that are inappropriate. The SSAFA team has also had Armed Forces families telling them that Local Authorities have asked if they have weapons in their homes.

She said: "Here at SSAFA we are very familiar with the lifestyle of Armed Forces families and believe that the strong sense of community within the military and the practical, ‘can-do’ attitude of serving personnel makes them great candidates for adoption. 

"Regular house moves and misconceptions surrounding these families can make it difficult for some serving personnel to progress with traditional adoption applications, however as a national adoption provider we are able to support adopters through the entire process no matter how many postings and deployments – staying with them from the start all the way through to when their child is placed with them."