Adoption England pledges to boost diversity among adopters
Amrit Virdi
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Adoption England has launched its three-year strategy to "modernise adoption services" in England, setting a goal to recruit adopters from diverse communities to support more children’s needs.
The organisation defines modern adoption as “a progressive and inclusive system that prioritises the well-being of children, provides robust support to adopted people, their adoptive and birth families and respects diversity in all its forms.”
The strategy covers the period until March 2027, including regional variations to take into account the different needs of children across the country.
Other aims laid out in the document include allowing adopted people to maintain relationships with people important to them to help understand why they were adopted, while giving all people involved in the adoption process the opportunity to influence how services are provided nationally.
Tailored help and support for adoptees and allowing children to be matched in move in with their permanent family in a timely way is another key focus of the strategy.
A trauma-informed approach which uses technology to “improve the effectiveness of processes and connectivity, to capture and share information, to deliver training, and to help maintain relationships” also features.
Latest Department for Education figures that the number of looked-after children with adoption orders dropped by almost 1,000 between 2018/19 and 2022/23. Adoption England adds that the number of prospective adopters has dropped over the last 18 months.
The cost-of-living crisis, pandemic and a shift in social work policy towards a focus on family support and kinship care are cited as reasons for the decline.
Sarah Johal, Adoption England's strategic lead, said: “When adoption is in their best interests, it can offer children the chance to experience a lifelong connection, a sense of belonging with their adoptive family, and a feeling of psychological permanence.
"Over the next three years this Adoption England strategy will prioritise recruiting adopters from diverse communities, matching children with their permanent family in a timely way, ensuring that those whose lives have been impacted by adoption are listened to, maintaining relationships that are important to adopted people, and supporting adopted people and their families when they need it.”
