‘Worrying’ drop in baby adoptions

Children now wait an average of two years and seven months before being adopted. In a quarter of cases, the process takes over three years, the figures show.

The total number of adoptions has continued to drop for children of all ages, falling to 3,050 in 2010/11 – 5 per cent fewer than the previous year, according to figures from the Department of Education.

The number of looked-after children placed for adoption at the end of March also fell by 2 per cent on 2010 and 10 per cent on 2007, to 2,450.

But the figures for adoptions of babies – children under one – are particularly stark. They contribute to a steady picture of decline: from 4,000 in 1976, to 150 in 2007, to 60 in the last year.

Children’s minister Tim Loughton said: “Today’s statistics are a timely reminder that we must redouble our efforts to do better for children in care.

It’s worrying that the number of adoptions has continued to decline. Children’s minister Tim Loughton

“It’s worrying that the number of adoptions has continued to decline, and it’s simply not good enough for vulnerable children to be waiting well over two years to be adopted.

“It’s also concerning that for those children leaving care, around a third are not in education, employment or training – much higher than the general population.”

The figures also showed that there were 65,520 “looked-after” children in care in England at the end of March, an increase of 2 per cent on 2010 and the highest number since 1987.

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Three-quarters of them, or 48,530, were placed with a foster family and 12 per cent, or 7,910, were cared for in residential accommodation such as a children’s home or secure unit.

The government has issued new guidance to clear up some adoption myths and is working to reduce delays and help local authorities.

Caution advised

But the chief executive of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), speaking to Channel 4 News Health and Social Care Correspondent Victoria Macdonald, advised caution over the figures.

David Holmes said that the statisitcs, based on returns from England’s local authorities, were six months old and that there was an even more significant time lag that needed to be taken into account. Mr Holmes said the figures related to adoption orders, which meant that the children had been with the adoptive parents for anywhere between 10 weeks and one year.

Our intelligence is that adoption activity is increasing. David Holmes, British Association for Adoption and Fostering

In fact, Mr Holmes said, anecdotal evidence was that children being adoption from care was on the increase. He said they were seeing an increase of referrals from their own adoption service and that local authorities were busier than ever.

“Our intelligence is that adoption activity is increasing but we will not see those figures come through until next year or possibly the year after,” he said.

Where there was a problem in the system, he said, was with the lack of people willing to adopt older children, siblings or those with disabilities. He was also critical of the court system which, he said, tended to be “overly cautious”, ordering extra impact assessments on birth parents or extended families in order to see if they are capable of keeping the child.

Mr Holmes said that more often than not, these extra, lengthy assessments did not change the original view that the child needed to be adopted.

“Sometimes this all gets collapsed down into the adoption system not working. Of course, it could be better but it does work for thousands of children a year. And it must be remembered that adoption is a service for children, not for adults,” he said.