Raising awareness of the process involved in adopting a child, and sharing some real stories of people's experiences as adoptive parents, will be the special focus of National Adoption Week this year.

The county council is always looking for adopters, but the campaign, from the 17 to 24 October, will focus on making sure that the process is clear for anyone thinking about starting or growing their family through adoption.

County Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: "The need to find families for some of our most vulnerable children remains right at the heart of this year's campaign. But it is important that we make sure that anyone who is considering becoming an adoptive parent understands the realities of adopting a child and the support available.

"We'll post individual stories on social media, and ask people to support us by sharing messages using #SupportAdoption."

Adopters are needed to come forward to look after all types of children of all different ages, especially older children, siblings, black and ethnic minority (BME), mixed heritage background and children with specific needs.

Consideration is given to anyone who wishes to adopt, regardless of their age, marital status, sexuality, cultural background or gender. Neither are there strict rules about age, whether people should have jobs, own their own homes or have their own children.

The only legal requirement is that adopters must be over 21 and live within Lancashire or nearby.

The county council is keen to hear from a broad range of prospective adopters, including single people and couples, same-sex and heterosexual, from all religious backgrounds or none.

People can help spread the word about adopting with Lancashire County Council on their online channels. This can be done by:

• Following the county council on Twitter @LancashireCC and searching for #LancsAdoption and #Support Adoption for messages to retweet.
• Liking the county council on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lancashirecc and sharing the posts about adoption.

By doing this people can help to spread the word to their friends and family, their colleagues and maybe the organisations they work with.

Anyone interested in finding out more about adoption can contact the county council by:

• Calling the friendly adoption team on 0300 123 6723.
• Visiting the website at www.lancashire.gov.uk/adoption and filling in the enquiry form
• Attending an information evening (details of these are on the website).

Lancashire County Council is part of Adopt North West, a regional adoption recruitment project that is funded by 22 local authorities in the North West.

During National Adoption Week and into early November we will be supporting the regional initiative, but also running our own campaign aimed at recruiting adopters for the children in our care. Our promotional activity will focus on finding forever homes for those harder to place children.