First4Adoption urges adopters to widen search for children needing loving homes

24 December 2014

First4Adoption is urging more people to consider adopting outside of their local area. The move comes as the Department for Education releases new Adoption Maps showing the numbers of children in each region waiting for a “forever family”. Published today by First4Adoption, on behalf of the Department for Education, the maps reveal that a total of 2070 children were adopted in England between July and September 2014.

The two maps, containing the most up-to-date information on adoption in England, show how many children were waiting to be adopted in each of the country’s 152 Local Authority areas as of the 30th September 2014. The statistics include, not only the numbers of adoptions via local authorities but also, those conducted by voluntary (independent) adoption agencies. You can view the maps here

Gemma Gordon-Johnson, Head Of Service at First4Adoption said “It’s always wonderful to be able to report that some of our most vulnerable children have found safe and loving homes. But the fact remains that there are thousands more who will be spending this Christmas without a permanent family. Many people are unaware that, once approved to do so, you can adopt a child or children from anywhere in England – not just your local area. So we are urging more people, wherever they live, whatever their background, to consider whether they could adopt and to get in touch with First4Adoption to find out more.”

In the past two years the government has introduced wide-ranging reforms of the adoption system to make it faster and easier to adopt. Under the new two-stage adopter assessment process, prospective adopters can expect to know if they have been approved to adopt within six months. The government also recently announced the creation of a £19 million Adoption Support Fund providing post-adoption support for adoptive families across the country.

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