The Government have recently announced a multi-million pound funding boost to help children find their permanent homes.
Last year, the government launched the National Adoption Strategy, which was aimed at reducing the time children spent in care whilst waiting for their forever home. Figures from the strategy show adoptions are on the rise, with a 23% increase in the number of families approved to adopt from 2020 to 2021.
Between 2021 and 2022, 3,700 children left Local Authority care under a permanence order either through adoption, or a special guardianship order. This was an increase of 31% from the previous year. The number of children waiting longer than 18 months to be adopted has also dropped, despite the challenges faced by the pandemic.
The government have announced an investment of £160million over three years to help remove barriers faced by adoptive family in the hope that this will lessen the delays for children waiting in care for their adoptive family. The funding will mean children in care can be matched with the right adoptive family quicker, through increased training for front line staff, an improved approval process and increased funding for targeted recruitment campaigns.
Adoptive families will also receive support, such as activities to help children recover from trauma, family support sessions and cognitive therapy, which aim to help children in the transition from care to their adoptive family in the long-term.
At Ramsdens we are extremely pleased to hear about the funding boost and hope that this will significantly reduce the barriers faced by adopters. We are also pleased to hear about the much-needed further support to be offered to adoptive families.
If you need advice, call our Child Care team on 01924 431 774 or email care@ramsdens.co.uk to book a free information session with our expert solicitors at any of our offices including Huddersfield, Leeds, and Wakefield.