Mission Statement

Passionate Adopters Targeting Change with Hope, was created to challenge systemic failures in adoption and push for urgent reform. Our mission is to ensure children and families gain access to the right services, the right lens, and the right interventions. Grounded in the lived experiences of adopters, PATCH amplifies the voices of adoptive families to raise awareness of the overlooked core elements that escalate issues and crises, driving meaningful change within the adoption system.

The Core Issue

Children removed from their birth families have often endured significant abuse. However, once removed, the lasting impact of that abuse is frequently ignored, and no comprehensive plan is made to support their recovery or repair from adversity. As these children grow, the symptoms of their trauma emerge alongside their development, yet the complexities that arise within family life are unjustly blamed on parents. This oversight represents a significant failure in the world of permanence and family support.

PATCH was formed in response to the alarming recognition that the current system fails both children and families in fundamental ways. Families in crisis face systemic barriers, including delayed interventions, biased assessments, and insufficient expertise from the professionals meant to support them. The impact of abuse and harm these children have endured is often ignored or poorly considered, leaving parents judged and blamed for being unable to manage challenges caused by the lack of timely recovery and repair opportunities. Pathways for healing and intervention are rarely addressed within appropriate timescales, placing an impossible burden on parents to manage the fallout. These shortcomings frequently lead to judgement, blame, and misdiagnosis, exacerbating distress instead of alleviating it. Meanwhile, children’s unresolved trauma is dismissed, resulting in behaviours that require tailored, expert interventions but are instead met with inadequate and dismissive responses.

Love and safety alone cannot address the deep wounds caused by trauma, grief, and loss. For families to thrive, the system must embrace a holistic approach considering the child’s experiences and family safety, providing timely and appropriate support focused on recognition, repair, and recovery. Trauma-expert-led practice, transparency, and collaboration across agencies are essential to delivering the right treatment and interventions.

Our Vision

PATCH Pathway envisions a reformed adoption system that:

• Always considers the core reasons why a child has been removed from their birth family, mapping out a future where these needs are critically and clinically addressed.
• Provides families with access to trauma-expert-led support that considers the safety of the entire family while focusing on the holistic well-being of the child.
• Employs empathetic, fair, and understanding professionals who listen to and learn from the lived experiences of adopters and adoptees before assuming authority.
• Prioritises the prevention of breakdowns and disruptions through transparency, timely support, and approaches that preserve the parent-child connection—even in challenging circumstances.
• Fosters collaboration between agencies to reduce harm and build lasting stability for families.

Our Commitment

As adopters who have lived these challenges firsthand, we unite our voices and energy to demand meaningful change. PATCH is unwavering in its commitment to systemic reform that transforms the lives of children and their families. We advocate for trauma-expert-led interventions that not only prevent crises but also ensure that every professional engagement is guided by humanity, ethical values, and genuine compassion. At the heart of our mission is an unrelenting focus on the whole child—valued, understood, and supported as the core of every decision.

Fiona Wells

PATCH Founder

&

PATCH Steering Group