National Adoption Strategy launches
Neil Puffett
Monday, July 26, 2021
A new National Adoption Strategy will centre around improving recruitment of potential adopters and allowing them to be matched with children from any ethnic group, the government has said.
Launching the strategy today (26 July), the Department for Education said it wants to improve adoption services in England by "putting in place better recruitment across the country and removing any unnecessary delays, through more training for front line staff, improving approval process and funding for targeted recruitment campaigns".
A total of £1m will go to Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) leaders to improve recruitment and the adopter approval process, and to support early arrangements where a child is placed with foster carers who are also their prospective adopters when first removed from their birth family so bonding can begin straight away.
The government said efforts to improve recruitment will "focus on matching prospective adopters, from any community, with children and young people and to ensuring adopters are not deterred from pursuing adoption because of their background".
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has previously raised concerns that potential adopters are being turned away because there are no children of their ethnicity waiting to be adopted, or for lifestyle reasons, such as because they rent.
RAAs in England will also be supported by a newly appointed "adoption strategic leader", Sarah Johal, who led one of the first RAAs set up, One Adoption West Yorkshire.
The DfE said Johal will work with RAAs to bring together best practice from across high-performing adoption agencies and boost collaborative working so that adopted children and their families can access the support and services they need whatever their background or where they live.
A further £1m will be provided to increase the number of local kinship carers support groups, increasing funding to the Family Rights Group kinship carers helpline, and including children in kinship care arrangements in the priority groups which local authorities must include in their school admissions.
Meanwhile £46m will go towards funding the extension of the Adoption Support Fund until March 2022, as announced by children's minister Vicky Ford in January. The future of the fund beyond then is set to be determined as part of the next Spending Review.
Williamson said: “There is no substitute for a loving, permanent family. A stable family unit is key to boosting life chances and there are so many adoptive parents across the country who have opened their homes and hearts to some of our most vulnerable children, often with very challenging backgrounds.
“We are committed to improving adoption services, as well as breaking down barriers so that parents from all walks of life can adopt and to ensure they are not deterred from adopting simply because of their background.
“We have taken steps to ensure these children and young people can be matched with the families that are right for them, but we know there is more to do and this strategy sets out our vision for radically improving systems so that we can be confident that every adoptive family in England is receiving the same high quality service no matter where they live.”
The government previously unveiled a four-year adoption strategy in 2016.
Sue Armstrong Brown, chief executive of Adoption UK, said much of the success of the new strategy will rely on the ability of the RAAs to make "big shifts in mindset and practice".
"Without the backing of new legislation, this is a leap of faith," she said.
"RAAs will need support, challenge and scrutiny over the coming years in order to deliver the kind of change that will give every adopted child the best chance of a bright future.”
