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| Merge adoption services to end delays, councils told | Merge adoption services to end delays, councils told |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Councils in England could be forced to merge their services to speed up adoption rates, under measures included in next week's Queen's Speech. | |
| Children can spend months in care waiting for adoptive parents to be found, according to ministers. | |
| Councils should join forces to match children and families far quicker, said children's minister Edward Timpson. | Councils should join forces to match children and families far quicker, said children's minister Edward Timpson. |
| The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were already working together on adoption. | The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were already working together on adoption. |
| Ministers believe adoption is happening at too localised a level, which limits the number of families available to adopt and leads to delays. | Ministers believe adoption is happening at too localised a level, which limits the number of families available to adopt and leads to delays. |
| Official figures suggest more than 3,000 children already put forward by local authorities for adoption are waiting to be matched with parents. | Official figures suggest more than 3,000 children already put forward by local authorities for adoption are waiting to be matched with parents. |
| 'Not good enough' | |
| More than half of these have spent 18 months in care, says the government. | More than half of these have spent 18 months in care, says the government. |
| It says merging adoption services would open up a greater number of potential adopters for every child. | It says merging adoption services would open up a greater number of potential adopters for every child. |
| New powers in a Schools and Adoption Bill will allow the government to require councils to combine their adoption functions if they fail to join together within the next two years. | |
| A Department for Education spokeswoman said there was no prescriptive top-down plan for how the merged services would work. | A Department for Education spokeswoman said there was no prescriptive top-down plan for how the merged services would work. |
| The department wants councils to come up with their own approach, perhaps uniting under one system for a region or city, or outsourcing to an agency. | The department wants councils to come up with their own approach, perhaps uniting under one system for a region or city, or outsourcing to an agency. |
| "Every single day a child spends waiting in care for their new family is a further delay to a life full of love and stability. This just isn't good enough," said Mr Timpson. | "Every single day a child spends waiting in care for their new family is a further delay to a life full of love and stability. This just isn't good enough," said Mr Timpson. |
| "By coming together and joining forces, councils can make sure more children are matched with families far quicker, regardless of where they live." | "By coming together and joining forces, councils can make sure more children are matched with families far quicker, regardless of where they live." |
| David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "Finding loving homes for children is one of the most important jobs councils do and we are already working together to do this. | David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "Finding loving homes for children is one of the most important jobs councils do and we are already working together to do this. |
| "Regional work on adoption is already taking place and many homes for children have been provided in this way. | "Regional work on adoption is already taking place and many homes for children have been provided in this way. |
| "The welfare of a child is at the heart of every decision on adoption a council makes and we would like to see councils encouraged to work regionally only if this is in the best interests of a child." | "The welfare of a child is at the heart of every decision on adoption a council makes and we would like to see councils encouraged to work regionally only if this is in the best interests of a child." |
| Adoption - your stories | |
| People who have been through, or are going through, the adoption process told BBC Radio 4's Today programme about their experiences. | |
| Paul, from Berkshire, said he and his wife had been involved in the "slow" process for just over two years. | |
| "We had to go through a lot of meetings - and then meetings were missed, and meetings cancelled, and our files were forgotten, so the process was quite weird and disjointed," he said. | |
| James, who adopted a little girl two years ago, told the programme: "The entire adoption process took around three years but I do understand that that has been streamlined considerably now." | |
| Caroline, who along with her partner has recently been approved to adopt, said they had been told they could search for a child on the national register. | |
| She welcomed the opportunity to look in different areas, and said of the process: "I'm not sure it's as joined up as it could be, but I think they do the best they can with the resources they have." | |
| Alison O'Sullivan, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, welcomed the move. | |
| Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "We've been working with government, with voluntary adoption agencies, with the courts over the past several years now to try and improve the process and improve the ability to find families for children as quickly as possible. | |
| "There's been a lot of progress made but there is much more to do. And we think that combining efforts across local authorities is a welcome development." | |
| 'Harmful delay' | |
| The British Association for Adoption and Fostering welcomed the plan, saying it was not acceptable for children to wait up to 18 months for an adoptive family. | The British Association for Adoption and Fostering welcomed the plan, saying it was not acceptable for children to wait up to 18 months for an adoptive family. |
| "Delay is itself significantly harmful and every step must be taken to minimise it," said the association's policy director, John Simmonds. | "Delay is itself significantly harmful and every step must be taken to minimise it," said the association's policy director, John Simmonds. |
| "Working together across all organisations to deliver this objective could not be more important and there are many excellent examples where this currently happens." | "Working together across all organisations to deliver this objective could not be more important and there are many excellent examples where this currently happens." |
| The change is designed to speed up the system for children who are waiting to be matched with adoptive families after court judgements have ruled in favour of them being adopted. | The change is designed to speed up the system for children who are waiting to be matched with adoptive families after court judgements have ruled in favour of them being adopted. |
| The number of children being put forward for adoption by councils in England fell sharply last year after the most senior family court judge criticised the "sloppy practice" of some social workers when bringing these cases. | The number of children being put forward for adoption by councils in England fell sharply last year after the most senior family court judge criticised the "sloppy practice" of some social workers when bringing these cases. |
| Sir James Munby, president of the Family Division, said they were not always looking closely enough at all the other options. | Sir James Munby, president of the Family Division, said they were not always looking closely enough at all the other options. |
| However, government efforts to promote adoption have seen an overall increase in the number of adoptions across the UK, from 3,100 in 2011 to 5,050 last year. | However, government efforts to promote adoption have seen an overall increase in the number of adoptions across the UK, from 3,100 in 2011 to 5,050 last year. |
| What is your experience of the adoption process? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | |
| If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number. |