CYP Now - Adoptions dip sharply as issues over special guardianship orders emerge

Department for Education report points to link between a drop in adoptions in favour of SGOs, with unsuitable placements made because of a desire by family courts to place the child within the wider family.

The slump in the number of children approved for adoption is continuing unabated, figures published last month show.

According to the Adoption Leadership Board statistics, in the three months from January to March this year, the courts granted 850 adoption placement orders. This compares with 1,170 between October and December 2013 and 1,550 between July and September 2013, a drop of 45.16 per cent (see graph).

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Various efforts have been made to address the decline. The issue is widely accepted to stem from a ruling made in September 2013 by Sir James Munby in the case Re B-S, in which he criticised "sloppy practice" of social workers and said that local authorities must provide evidence that all alternatives to adoption had been considered before bringing a case to court.

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