Adoption charities say adoption myths are preventing children finding permanent homes

A fifth of adults in the UK believe they would be ruled out of adopting a child after the age of 40, a study has revealed.

The British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) survey also found the same proportion think being single is a barrier to adoption, while almost a quarter of adults thought having a low household income would prevent them from adopting, and one in five believed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are unable to adopt.

More than two thirds thought having a criminal conviction would be a barrier to adopting. Previous convictions are taken into consideration when someone comes forward to adopt, but offences do not automatically rule out potential adopters.

More than 2,100 UK adults were questioned about adoption criteria by the charity. David Holmes, chief executive of BAAF, said such misconceptions about adoption damage the prospects of children in care.

"There are some long-standing myths out there about who can and can't adopt and we owe it to children in care who are waiting for adoption to explode those myths," he said.

"These myths may be preventing thousands of prospective adopters from coming forward and in turn making thousands of children in care wait far too long for their new adoptive family."

The report was published to highlight the start of National Adoption Week. Meanwhile a second study published by adoption and fostering charity Parents And Children Together (Pact) found that potential adopters are put off by the length of time they believe it takes to adopt a child.

The Report found a third of prospective, existing and declined adopters thought the whole adoption process takes an average of 35 months. But Pact said the average time taken is actually 18 months.

"The adoption process is becoming more efficient and the timescales, certainly for Pact, are well under two years from initial enquiry to a child moving in with our families," said Jan Fishwick, Pact's chief executive.

The research findings included:

• Over half of respondents didn't understand the role their social worker played in helping to match them with a child.
• One in three prospective adopters in couples cited the reluctance of one partner to proceed with adoption as an issue.
• 40% of respondents felt they were or would be given little information about an adopted child's background and expressed anxiety about behavioural issues and future problems such as the potential for the child to have drink and drug problems later in life.

For more information on Fostering in Kent, see www.kentfostering.co.uk