Youngsters are waiting a month longer than the national average for adoption

by Martin Jefferies

Children in Kent wait an average 21 months to be adopted - a month longer than the national average.

Scorecards released by the Department for Education for the first time today show the average time between a child entering care and moving in with an adoptive family is 652 days.

What has been described as a postcode lottery means children in West Berkshire are re-homed seven months quicker than those in Kent, while in Hackney the wait is a year longer.

Children's minister Tim Loughton said: "Adoption can give vulnerable children the greatest possible chance of a stable, loving and permanent home.

"Hundreds of children are being let down by unacceptable delays right across the country and throughout the adoption process.

"Every month a child waits to be placed, there is less chance of finding a permanent, stable and loving home. This cannot go on.

"There's been some real progress but these statistics illustrate all too starkly the magnitude of the challenge which we face."

Every council in England has been issued a scorecard as a way of speeding up the adoption system.

The figures for Kent show that, even after a court rules a child can be adopted, it takes Kent County Council five months to find suitable adoptive parents.

This compares to just over a fortnight in Shropshire.

Only 9% of children are adopted after leaving care, even though some councils, including North East Lincolnshire, Derby and Peterborough, find families for a quarter of youngsters.

The figures also reveal 55 children in Kent are currently waiting for adoption.
Around two-thirds of the 200 or so children adopted in the last three years are aged five or under.

Jenny Whittle, KCC cabinet member for specialist children’s services, said: “The figures released today by the Department for Education are not telling us anything new.

“Kent has led the way in reviewing its adoption service by commissioning Martin Narey, the government advisor on adoption, to carry out a thorough review. The adoption service was also inspected by Ofsted and, on the back of both of those reports, a comprehensive improvement plan was introduced.

“This included partnering with Coram – a leading UK children’s charity. The charity has a superb track record and I am confident that over time, by working with our team, they will bring about the improvements that are so necessary.

“In the past year we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of approved prospective adopters and our focus now is on matching children with these families.

“I am really encouraged by the number of people who are coming forward to adopt and I would love to see that number continue to grow."

Anyone considering adoption is urged to phone 0845 330 2968.