A life changed for good – this is what National Adoption Week is all about.

Since its launch in 1997, National Adoption Week has been held each year to encourage more families to come forward to adopt the children who wait the longest – older children, children with disabilities, brothers and sisters, and children from some black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

In 2007, the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) worked with GMTV, The Sun and BBC News 24 to highlight children waiting and to tell the stories behind adoption. BAAF launched the findings of a special poll that has investigated awareness and attitudes towards adoption from the general public. There was also a particular focus on black and minority ethnic media to encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to come forward.