by political editor Paul Francis

Kent must act to address a 'desperate imbalance’ between the number of children waiting to be adopted and the number of families available to take them, according to a damning report on adoption services.

The report by the former head of Barnados Martin Narey is highly critical of the county council’s services, saying that it has lost its grip and that the deterioration in services should have been recognised.

KCC, which commissioned the report, has responded to the findings by announcing an independent specialist charity will oversee adoption over the next two years.

In a report setting out KCC’s shortcomings, Mr Narey highlights a decline in the number of children being adopted in the last five years, saying performance has “dipped markedly.”

In 2006, 93 children were adopted but last year, that number was just 57.

At the same time, there are about 90 children waiting to be adopted with a further 50 likely to join the waiting list this year but only 28 approved adopters.

“Whatever the nature of the 90 children waiting, it is clear that there is a desperate imbalance between the number of those children and the number of approved adopters. The fundamental weakness in Kent is clear.

"If this single issue was successfully addressed, then the number of adoptions would increase markedly.”

Mr Nairey also suggests that KCC is not getting value for money from its adoption service and criticises staff for blaming others.

“In my meeting with the adoption team, there was no recognition they could do more to increase adoptions or accelerate their completion. They identified the problems as all lying elsewhere - with the courts, with CAFCASS guardians, with inadequate IT and most of all with district social workers.”

While the report is critical, it also suggests that KCC is beginning to make improvements and says most social workers are motivated, committed and caring.

Cllr Jenny Whittle, KCC cabinet member for children’s services, acknowledged the shortcomings and said there would be a fresh push to recruit potential adopters. The council was aiming to double the number of adoptions within a year.

“Our focus has been more on safeguarding children at risk and I understand that. There have been difficulties in Kent and that is part of the reason that adoption figures have fallen. The recruitment of more adoptive families is a big focus,” she said.

The council was appointing the charity Coram, which helped improve adoption services in the London borough of Harrow, to oversee improvements.

The government recently threatened to take over council’s adoption services if they did not improve and cited Kent as one of the poorest performing authorities in the south east.

Just 9% of cases involving those wanting to adopt were dealt with in Kent on average over the last three years compared with the national average of 12%.