Kent charities call for more foster care support

KentOnline / KMTV

The mother of Tony Hudgell, who was abused by his birth parents as a baby, is calling on more people to become adopters. Charities say there are many misconceptions, and during National Adoption Week are trying to dispel them.

Transcript

00:00 Adopted children often come from traumatic backgrounds.

00:03 At just 41 days old, Tony Hodgell entered the Evelina Hospital.

00:08 His birth parents hurt him so badly he had to have his legs amputated.

00:14 Both sentenced to 10 years in prison.

00:17 Paula Hodgell then fostered Tony.

00:19 We never intended to adopt.

00:21 Our process was always to foster.

00:24 We wanted to foster lots of children and help lots of children in care.

00:27 But once Tony came into our family we soon fell in love with him and

00:31 when we knew that he would be adopted it was only natural that we agreed we wanted to be his

00:38 adopters.

00:38 We didn't want him to spend a lifetime in care.

00:40 You know he's just as much just as important as any of our children

00:46 and you know he might not have grown in my tummy but he certainly grew in my heart.

00:49 This was the day that Medway Family Court ruled that Tony could be adopted.

00:54 He was so proud of himself in there.

00:56 And he has just celebrated his ninth birthday.

00:59 A clear outpouring of love.

01:01 It could have been different.

01:03 A similar process to what the Hodgells did is encouraged by the organisation

01:08 that facilitates adoptions through our local councils.

01:11 They foster a child throughout the court care proceedings whilst the court are making a

01:17 decision about the child's care plan and then if the court decides to grant and a child should

01:23 be placed for adoption then those carers go on to adopt the child.

01:27 It's an amazing scheme that we run.

01:29 It's incredibly child focused because it means a child can be placed with their

01:34 potential permanent family and not have to move when adoption becomes the plan.

01:39 Sam is currently in the process of adopting a two-year-old daughter.

01:44 We've adopted two children and we are just still in the process at the moment

01:48 just coming to an end of adopting our second child.

01:52 It's been a wonderful experience.

01:54 It's full on, I'm not going to lie.

01:55 Adoption is full on and you have to open up your whole life to your social workers.

02:00 But that's because these children really need the best possible adopters and they need people that

02:07 are in the best possible position to take them.

02:11 So, you know, it is a big commitment but it's for a really positive reason.

02:16 Charities say they are constantly supported.

02:20 And they will have lots of regular contact with them, visits, etc.

02:24 We will also provide some additional training where needed

02:29 to help and support families to do that.

02:32 The idea is that we are empowering families to do that.

02:35 So it's not necessarily that we're going in to do the work with children

02:38 but we're empowering and supporting prospective adopters to be able to meet those needs.

02:43 Adoption can transform a young person's life.

02:47 Tony had a traumatic start and his amputation is a constant reminder

02:52 that his home and his adoptive parents are full of love and now he inspires others.

02:58 Gabriel Morris for Caine TV.

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