TV documentary to feature work of adoption social workers

The profoundly life changing process of adoption is uncovered in this new four part series, which starts tonight on ITV.

‘Wanted: A Family Of My Own’ follows the stories of parents desperate to adopt and children who need families. Cameras have been granted access into many defining moments of the adoption process from prospective parents’ meetings with social workers and facing adoption panels, to the moment a child leaves their foster carers and meets their new parents for the first time.
 
Presented by Nicky Campbell, himself adopted as a baby, the series sets out to provide an intimate insight into adoption in Britain today, through the experiences of children and couples followed at close quarters as they progress through the proceedings involved.
 
In showing key stages of each child and each couple’s experience, Wanted: A Family of My Own, offers a rare perspective on the impact of adoption on the lives of those involved. Looking at why children need new families, the range of people who want to adopt and how the process operates, the series builds an understanding of adoption today which may challenge preconceptions.
   
The series features a gay couple who thought they would never become parents, a single mum who is adopting for the third time, a baby boy who was born addicted to crack cocaine and couples who, after struggling with infertility, are finally getting close to having families of their own.

The unique access to each story was acquired by working in partnership with local authorities across the UK over a two year period.

One such authority is Bournemouth Council, whose adoption team featured in two episodes.

Bournemouth’s service director of children’s social care, Kim Drake, said: “This has been an exciting venture resulting in a very high quality production.

“We hope to gain significant interest in adoption and indeed fostering in Bournemouth which we are all geared up for following the programmes going to air.

“The Bournemouth staff featured in the programmes have done a fantastic job and are great ambassadors I think for the council and social work.”

The first episode will air tonight at 9pm on ITV.