Funding boost for new families as adoptions increase

A multi-million pound investment to support new adoptive families settle into their new lives is expected to help thousands of vulnerable children in care find permanent homes faster.

Last year’s National Adoption Strategy aimed to tackle how long children wait in care, and latest figures show adoptions are on the rise and figures with a 23 per cent increase in the number of families approved to adopt, from 1,930 in September 2020 to 2,370 at September 2021.

The government is investing a new £160 million over three years to build on this support, removing remaining barriers and reducing delays for thousands more children still waiting in care, so they can be matched more quickly with the right family.

Adoptive families will also receive additional support including cognitive therapy, family support sessions and activities to help children recover from earlier traumas like abuse or neglect, helping them settle into their new families and homes.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “The importance of a loving, stable family cannot be overstated, no matter what shape it takes. Family are crucial in giving children the warmth, background and opportunities they need to succeed in life.

“We launched our National Adoption Strategy last summer, and I’m really encouraged to see it is already having a meaningful impact on the adoption system across the country, as waiting times for children in care reduce and they find the loving homes they need. Whether it’s through investing in adoption and our expanded Family Hub network, or looking into the findings from the upcoming Care Review, it is my mission to make sure that family stays at the heart of our policy.”

The total investment includes £144 million for the Government’s Adoption Support Fund to strengthen support for new and growing adoptive families, which has already helped nearly 40,000 adoptive families since 2015.

Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Councils share the government’s ambition to make sure that children in care have stable, loving homes, including through adoption where appropriate. This announcement of £160 million of additional funding to help reduce delays in children being matched with their adoptive families is positive, as is the ongoing work within Regional Adoption Agencies to match children with their adoptive families more quickly.

“Sadly, despite the number of approved adopters increasing for some years, there are children who have been waiting for more than 18 months to be placed with adoptive families. Adopters tell us that ongoing support is vital and we have long called for the Adoption Support Fund to be extended, so we are pleased that adoptive families and adoption agencies now have certainty over this funding for several years.

“We would now ask government to extend this investment to aid the recruitment and retention of foster carers and the children’s homes workforce, alongside additional support for kinship care, to make sure that every child can live in the home that’s right for them.”