Alpha Mummy blog: why don't we trust dads?

Single men are being sought by an adoption agency eager to find more homes for children in care, although 40 per cent of the public believe that single men are inappropriate adopters.

The agency fears that public disapproval is deterring men from coming forward and wants to get across a message that not only are they eligible, but that they can make excellent adoptive fathers.

The move is being spearheaded by the charity Action for Children, which runs an adoption agency for harder-to-place children for whom local authorities have struggled to find families. Older children, large groups of siblings, ethnic minority children and children with disabilities all fall into this category.

Research conducted by the charity found considerable public opposition to the idea of single men adopting, which it believes is putting many off. Its poll found that 40 per cent of people think that single men should be banned from adopting. Opposition is particularly strong among men, half of whom thought it should be prohibited. But Susan Cotton, head of adoption services at the charity, said that there was a desperate shortage of positive male role models.

“We are finding it very hard to attract single men to adoption. Many may think that they are not eligible to adopt or it could be to do with social prejudices, as exposed by this research. Others might feel that people could question their motives for wanting to become an adopter,” she said. “Similarly, it is harder for us to recruit men to volunteer to work with children and young people. This is a real shame as we desperately need positive male role models to come forward – especially for boys, who tend to wait longer for a potential adoptive home.”

Action for Children’s campaign comes as the latest figures show a steady decline in the number of children being adopted from the care system. This year only 2,600 children have been adopted, down from 3,600 in 2004. Experts say that far more pressure needs to be put on local authorities to find suitable adoptors and speed up the processes.

Couples are often put off when they discover how difficult it is to adopt a child. By the time all avenues have been exhausted, in terms of keeping the child with its natural family, he or she is often of school-going age.

The charity said it was disappointed that the research found only a tenth of the public said they had considered or would ever consider adopting.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering is also concerned that the situation for boys is going to deteriorate. It has found that half the public think that boys are more trouble and harder to bring up, with a bias towards girls if a choice is available. David Holmes, its chief executive, said: “These findings concern us as we are worried some prospective adopters might be put off adopting boys because of negative perceptions.” How a bachelor became paterfamilias

Case study

Ten years ago when a woman friend told Lee Stretton that he would make a great father but a lousy husband, he laughed it off. But after he saw a poster about adoption the next day (“it seemed like fate”), he contacted the Children’s Society and ten months later an eight-year-old boy came to live with him.

“My whole life changed . . . it went brilliantly,” Mr Stretton, 39 and still unmarried, said. He now has four adopted sons aged 19, 16, 11 and 7.

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