Finding Adopters for Older Children
76% of children adopted in 2012–2013, were under 4 years of age and it is a recognised challenge to find families who will consider older children.
The Adoption Register (now Adoption Match) Annual Report 2012 – 2013 notes that in the past “older children” who were considered hard to place were 6 – 7 years old. It is now considered more difficult to find a family for a child aged 4 and over as younger children have become available for adoption.
The Forum has therefore also produced Guidance Note 2 – Finding Adopters for Older Children to help agencies identify where changes could be made to improve opportunities for recruiting families for older children.