A PICTURE of four, happy, smiling sisters hit the internet this week as part of Social Services' attempts to find them a loving home. The move is just one of many initiatives being tested across the country in a bid to find more people willing to adopt. National Adoption Week, which runs until October 17, has been organised by the British Agencies for Fostering and Adoption (BAAF), and aims to find more recruits. The Government is aiming to increase the profile of adoption for children who are in the care of Social Services departments by urging local authorities to work in partnership with voluntary agencies. But what is it like to be adopted and how could becoming an adoptive parent change your life? Reporter RACHEL PINDER investigates:

JOANNE Atkinson was adopted at six years old. Arthur and Rose Wilcock collected her from a Rossendale children's home and took her as their own little girl. She was 10 before they were able to legally adopt her.

Now she believes that, as she was abandoned when she was just two months old, she was very fortunate to be adopted.

She said: "I was brought up to believe I was special because my parents chose to adopt me and I think that got me through. I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of either."

Mrs Atkinson, 54, now lives in Hazelwood Road, Nelson, with her husband, former Pendle councillor Len, 54.

The couple were mayor and mayoress of Pendle in 1994, and they have two children, Julie, 32, and Luke, 22.

They have also fostered seven children over the past six years, aged between five and 13.

She said: "The main ingredient adoptive parents need is a lot of love.

"They should be able to feed, clothe and educate the children and I don't see any problem with age, as my adoptive parents were about 40 when they adopted me.

"There are so many children who need adopting, and it is such a terrible ordeal to go through.

"Children adapt into a different life very easily, and usually their life becomes much better than life in a children's home.

"Children's homes are much better today than they were. It wasn't quite Oliver Twist but it wasn't far off." There are currently up to 10,000 children in the United Kingdom who are looking for permanent new homes and it is hoped that National Adoption Week will make a real difference for many of them.

Derbyshire County Council took the decision to use the internet to try to attract more prospective adopters.

The story of Katie, nine, Jane, eight, Molly, five, and Sarah, two - split between two foster homes after a family break-up - is told. It is the first time the internet has been used in this way.

The council's website also features two boys who are looking for new families.

Strict guidelines are in place to avoid the threat from paedophiles lurking on the net.

A typical story of adoption is painted by the case of George and Sarah, a young couple who applied to Blackburn Diocesan Adoption Agency to adopt because they were unable to have children of their own.

They were approved as suitable adoptive parents and several months later were shown profiles of three children, two brothers and a younger sister between the ages of nine and three.

The children were introduced to them and after a short time moved into the family.

Now eight years later the children are well settled and are involved in a wide range of different activities.

Blackburn Diocesan Adoption Agency and the Family Placement Team at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have many children, from babies to 18-year-olds, who are currently looking for adoption.

Jolene, five, and Kate, three, are sisters who need to be placed together. They suffered neglect in their infant years due to parental drug use.

Jolene is a little girl who enjoys attention and cuddles. She needs someone who can help her display her anxieties outwardly as she tends to hold her worries inside.

Kate is a confident, outgoing little girl, who enjoys cuddles and likes attention. Both girls enjoy school and nursery and mix well with other children.

Adopters would be expected to agree to indirect contact once a year with a member of the birth family.

In a joint statement, Ken Foote, director of Social Services, and Brian Williams, principal social worker for the Diocesan Agency said: "National Adoption Week gives us an opportunity to focus on the need for adoptive parents for many children.

"We particularly want to find families for children over five years old and groups of brothers and sisters

"We want to encourage more people to come forward and consider adoption.

"We need adopters from all backgrounds and ethnic groups to meet the needs of a wide range of children."

That includes single people, as experience shows that they have much to offer children in the public care system. The two organisations have put together an information pack which explains what adoption is all about.

They will also hold an open evening on Monday, October 25, at 7.30pm in the Fielden Room at Blackburn Library.

For more information about adoption, contact the Family Placement Team at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council on 01254 587528/583328.

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