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| Action pledged against councils over slow adoptions | Action pledged against councils over slow adoptions |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter | By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter |
| David Cameron is expected to promise tough action against English councils that fail to place children with adoptive parents within 12 months. | David Cameron is expected to promise tough action against English councils that fail to place children with adoptive parents within 12 months. |
| Poorly performing councils' adoption services may be taken over by more effective councils, he will warn. | Poorly performing councils' adoption services may be taken over by more effective councils, he will warn. |
| It coincides with new tables showing councils' adoption performance. | It coincides with new tables showing councils' adoption performance. |
| The data shows Hackney in London has the worst record, placing only 43% of children with adoptive parents within 12 months of deciding to do so. | The data shows Hackney in London has the worst record, placing only 43% of children with adoptive parents within 12 months of deciding to do so. |
| Other poor performers include the London Borough of Brent at 52% and Nottinghamshire at 55% - both figures are expressed as an average over the past three years. | Other poor performers include the London Borough of Brent at 52% and Nottinghamshire at 55% - both figures are expressed as an average over the past three years. |
| At the top of the tables is York, which managed to place 100% of children with adoptive parents within the 12-month time frame. | At the top of the tables is York, which managed to place 100% of children with adoptive parents within the 12-month time frame. |
| Six months limit? | |
| According to the latest figures, children wait an average of two years and seven months to be adopted. | According to the latest figures, children wait an average of two years and seven months to be adopted. |
| The average age at which children are adopted is three years and 10 months. | The average age at which children are adopted is three years and 10 months. |
| Ministers are urging local authorities to speed up the process and are set to impose a six-month target for adoptions. | Ministers are urging local authorities to speed up the process and are set to impose a six-month target for adoptions. |
| But many experts say adoption cases can be very complicated and need time to be worked through thoroughly. They can also be held up by delays in the courts. | But many experts say adoption cases can be very complicated and need time to be worked through thoroughly. They can also be held up by delays in the courts. |
| The government has also pledged to overhaul the care and adoption system to improve the life chances of vulnerable children. Its league tables also measure councils on such children's educational performance. | The government has also pledged to overhaul the care and adoption system to improve the life chances of vulnerable children. Its league tables also measure councils on such children's educational performance. |
| England's adoption adviser Martin Narey, the former head of Barnardos, is working with local councils to help them improve their adoption services. This includes overhauling the assessment process for those wishing to adopt. | England's adoption adviser Martin Narey, the former head of Barnardos, is working with local councils to help them improve their adoption services. This includes overhauling the assessment process for those wishing to adopt. |
| The move follows David Cameron's speech to the Tory Party conference in which he said it was a "scandal" that only 60 children under the age of one in care in England last year were adopted. | |
| Children's Minister Tim Loughton said the government wanted to encourage local authorities to perform better. | |
| "If they're not taking notice of us around a whole range of areas in terms of getting more children adopted, speeding the whole process up, making sure they're doing better by children in care and their outcomes, then we will want to put a very strong spotlight on them and say 'are you really the right one to be running this service?' | |
| "If not, we'll need to get someone in who is going to do a better job for children in the care system." | |
| However, the Association of Directors of Children's Services said there were a number of alternatives to adoption which councils were increasingly using. | However, the Association of Directors of Children's Services said there were a number of alternatives to adoption which councils were increasingly using. |
| Court delays | |
| Its president Matt Dunkley said once these were taken into account, the numbers of children finding a suitable stable placement were rising. | Its president Matt Dunkley said once these were taken into account, the numbers of children finding a suitable stable placement were rising. |
| He added: "There is a moral imperative to place vulnerable children in stable families as quickly as possible, while ensuring that they are safe and able to thrive in that family. | He added: "There is a moral imperative to place vulnerable children in stable families as quickly as possible, while ensuring that they are safe and able to thrive in that family. |
| "We agree that there are changes required to the adoption process to speed up the recruitment and matching of vulnerable children with potential adopters, as well as the decision that children should be put up for adoption, but not at the expense of depth and quality of decisions that risk adoption breakdown." | "We agree that there are changes required to the adoption process to speed up the recruitment and matching of vulnerable children with potential adopters, as well as the decision that children should be put up for adoption, but not at the expense of depth and quality of decisions that risk adoption breakdown." |
| The association argues that these delays are as much a consequence of the court system that demands expert witnesses and endless assessments, as they are about problems in local authorities. | The association argues that these delays are as much a consequence of the court system that demands expert witnesses and endless assessments, as they are about problems in local authorities. |
| And Alan Wood, director of children's services in Hackney, said placing a child quickly should not be the only consideration upon which authorities were judged. | |
| "We have got one of the best records of stability of placement; hardly any, if any, of our placements ever break down. You will note on the same league tables that Hackney is doing extremely well in the education and performance of looked-after children, we're the fourth best in the country," he said. | |
| More resources | |
| Hugh Thornbery, strategic director of children's services at charity Action for Children, said: "With the number of children in the care system at an all-time high, our need for adopters is greater than ever before. | Hugh Thornbery, strategic director of children's services at charity Action for Children, said: "With the number of children in the care system at an all-time high, our need for adopters is greater than ever before. |
| "More can be done to make sure vulnerable children who need to be adopted are placed with families who can look after them." | "More can be done to make sure vulnerable children who need to be adopted are placed with families who can look after them." |
| Andrew, who is due to complete the process of adopting a daughter on Wednesday, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it took him and his wife two years to be matched with a child after they were approved as adoptive parents. He is Irish and his wife is of mixed race. | Andrew, who is due to complete the process of adopting a daughter on Wednesday, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it took him and his wife two years to be matched with a child after they were approved as adoptive parents. He is Irish and his wife is of mixed race. |
| "Often we were told they were waiting for a more acceptable ethnic match. On one occasion there was a little girl who was part West African, and we were turned down because we had no West African connection," he said. | "Often we were told they were waiting for a more acceptable ethnic match. On one occasion there was a little girl who was part West African, and we were turned down because we had no West African connection," he said. |
| Janet Foulds, who has been a social worker for over 35 years, said more funding, not "naming and shaming", was needed. | Janet Foulds, who has been a social worker for over 35 years, said more funding, not "naming and shaming", was needed. |
| "Yes, we can all look at motivation to do things better, we can look at streamlining the bureaucracy, but we also need to recognise that we do need the people in place to get in early and make these decisions for children at a time when they suffer the least harm," she said. | "Yes, we can all look at motivation to do things better, we can look at streamlining the bureaucracy, but we also need to recognise that we do need the people in place to get in early and make these decisions for children at a time when they suffer the least harm," she said. |
| Are you an adoptive parent? Or do you have experience of the adoption system? Send your comments and experiences to the BBC using the form below: | Are you an adoptive parent? Or do you have experience of the adoption system? Send your comments and experiences to the BBC using the form below: |