Commenting on the latest adoption figures, Ann Graham, ADCS President, said:
“Adoption can be the right choice for some children, but it’s not a suitable route to permanence for every child. These latest figures show that fewer children in our care are finding permanence via adoption and there are a few different reasons for this. There are ongoing difficulties in recruiting adopters, with matching and differing approaches in the family courts all playing into the fall we have seen in placement orders. We are also seeing more children and young people finding long-term stability via family-based care, which speaks to wider reforms and the prioritisation of kinship in children’s social care.
“Adoption England has just this month launched a new campaign, ‘Every day is everything,’ aimed at attracting new adopters, which may help here, as will confirmation of the way the adoption and special guardianship support fund will work going forward following a government consultation on options for change earlier this year.”
ENDS