Funding boost to expand voluntary adoption agencies

The money will be made available to VAAs from later this year until 2016 to develop "new and creative ways" to recruit more adopters in an effort to tackle a shortfall in the numbers of carers needed, particularly for hard-to-place children.

The government hopes that by March 2016, VAAs could be recruiting an additional 2,000 prospective adopters a year.

It is the latest strand of government reforms aimed at increasing the number of adoptions, and follows recent proposals to speed up and simplify the adoption process. It is also recognition that if the reforms succeed in making adoption the preferred care option for more children, there will need to be an increased supply of potential adopters to place them with.

The majority of the money will be used to expand VAA recruitment of adopters, while advice, coaching and guidance will be offered to agencies to help them expand.
 
Children and Families Minister, Edward Timpson, said: “There are still over 4,000 children waiting to be adopted nationally, and we cannot stand by whilst children’s futures hang in the balance. This is why we are taking a closer look at how we are recruiting new parents by giving voluntary adoption agencies a bigger role.
 
“We know more than 650,000 people would consider adopting right now, yet more than 700 additional adopters are needed each year to keep up with the growing number of children waiting to be adopted.”

Currently, VAAs in England place children with around 600 adopters each year.

Enver Soloman, director of evidence and impact at the National Children’s Bureau, hoped the funding will enable more looked-after children to be found long-term families.

He said: “We know there are more children than ever coming into care and waiting to be adopted and having more agencies can only help to find homes for these young people.”

Alison Worsley, deputy director for strategy at Barnardo’s, said: “Voluntary adoption agencies offer a critical service, often drawing on invaluable expertise and experience in finding families for those children who are not always top of the pile and wait the longest to be adopted.
 
“This investment will help to increase numbers of prospective adopters for the thousands of children desperately waiting for their new families."

Darren Johnson, operational director for fostering, adoption & permanency at Action for Children, said the funding was clear recognition that action is needed to tackle the current backlog of 4,000 children in the care system who need a home.
 
He added: “Through our own services, that find adoptive parents for children in care, we know that innovative approaches can help to ensure that children are placed with families that can support their needs and offer them much-needed stability. Today’s funding will help ensure that this becomes a reality for more children, who have faced a very difficult start in life."