'Not enough Black & Mixed heritage people are coming forward to adopt - we hope we can inspire them'
The cost-of-living crisis has contributed to a decline in the number of people coming forward to adopt and a couple who spent five years trying to give a child a home, hope they can inspire others
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The Source Exclusive: ‘Not enough Black & Mixed heritage people are coming forward to adopt - we hope we can inspire them’
Stark figures show that Black and Mixed heritage kids are forced to wait five months longer than white children to be adopted as there are not enough Black and Mixed-race adopters coming forward.
STORY BY AYOKUNLE OLUWALANA
OCTOBER 27, 2025
A couple who spent five years trying to adopt hope to inspire more Black people to start the process as “not enough” adopters are coming forward, charities say.
Marvin and Yeama from Kent say they were determined to give a Black child a “forever home” and that it took five years from 2016 till they finally adopted a two-year-old boy in 2021.
The couple who at the time had one biological child and struggled to conceive a second say they wanted to help tackle the disparity in the number of Black boys waiting to be matched versus white boys, as Black and Mixed heritage children represent around 7% of children in care, and account for only 2% of adopted children.
Data gathered from adoption agencies by national charity You Can Adopt also found that Black and Mixed heritage kids are forced to wait approximately five months longer than white children to be adopted as ‘there are not enough Black and Mixed-race adopters coming forward.’
But the pair who endured years of trying to give a child a home say that although the process of adoption is “difficult”, the joy of giving a Black child stability is “priceless.”
Speaking to The Source, Marvin said: “When you look at the demographics of young boys in the system, we’ve got a high ratio of young Black boys waiting to be matched to families compared to white families. The disparity is getting worse.
“We know there’s a lot of research showing that a lot of Black boys’ trajectories aren’t the same as those from a Caucasian background.
“By having the opportunity to give a Black boy a forever home, to give them love and stability so that they don’t end up on the wrong path; we hope by doing that with one person, we can encourage others.”
Insights from adoption agencies across the UK also showed that the cost-of-living crisis has contributed to a decline in the number of people coming forward to adopt – with new data showing a 12% decline in prospective adopter registrations compared to last year.
According to You Can Adopt, a common misconception holding people back from adopting is that many believe they need the “perfect home.”
But now, a new campaign, A Welcome Home launched by the charity is encouraging more Black families to consider adopting even if they don’t have a “big house or garden.”
Yeama said: “Sometimes people think you need a big house, a big garden to be able to adopt. That’s not the case.
“You need love, you need to be able to create stability and then support to improve them.”
Although they finally adopted after years of trying, Marvin originally from Ghana and Yeama from Sierra Leone say that an added barrier in the adoption process was that social workers “lacked cultural understanding.”
They say that when they eventually moved to a different local authority, there was more support.
Yeama said: “The journey was difficult. I remember the first time we met a social worker, and they asked us, ‘Why do you want to adopt? You’ve got your own child already.’
“They didn’t understand our culture. In our culture, you sometimes always take on children, but maybe not under the banner label of adoption. It’s always been a part of our culture.
“There was a lack of support within the social work settings and social workers when it comes to cultural competency.”
Marvin added: “In 2019, we moved to a different consortium of local authorities that had young Black boys who desperately needed a home. That is where we finally adopted our child.
“The social worker understood that our church is a network and is a benefit in helping raise a child.”
Since adopting, the couple says that seeing their children together brings them joy and they hope they can inspire others to do the same.
Yeama said: “Our children have a great relationship. Our daughter always knew we wanted to adopt one day. They have a wonderful relationship. Our son doesn’t quite understand what the word adoption means, but we do explain that he came from somewhere to be with us.
“The process is rigorous and intrusive, but it’s understandable. Even though the process is hard, the joy we get to see on your boy is priceless. He came to us before he was two, and to see where he’s gone in four years, it’s a night-and-day difference.
“It warms our hearts knowing that we could make a change to one person’s life. Our message is if you’ve been thinking about it, dreaming about it, just do it. You could change the trajectory of their lives.”
*The story have been updated to reflect that the couple had one biological child instead of two.
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