Posted on Thursday 3rd March 2022
Cllr Mark Sutton
A multi-million pounds funding boost to find permanent homes for thousands of children in care more quickly has been welcomed by Staffordshire County Council’s lead for Children.
Mark Sutton, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People welcomed today’s announcement on additional Government funding for adoption services and said:
“It is vital we do everything in our power to make sure that, where it is the right plan for a child, they are able to move in with their new adoptive family as soon as possible.”
The announcement by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi will see new investment of £160million over three years to build on existing support.
Funding will help remove remaining barriers and reduce delays for thousands more children still waiting in care, so they can be matched more quickly with the right family.
In the plans, adoptive families will also receive additional support including therapies, family support sessions and activities to help children recover from earlier traumas like abuse or neglect, helping them settle into their new families and homes.
The total investment includes £144 million for the Government’s Adoption Support Fund to strengthen support for new and growing adoptive families, which has already helped nearly 40,000 adoptive families since 2015.
Staffordshire County Council has joined neighbouring authorities, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council to create the Together4Children regional adoption partnership.
Over the last year, Together4Children has found homes for more than 100 children across the region.
Talking about today’s announcement, Mark Sutton, said:
“This additional funding is great news for children waiting for adoption and for those potential adopters in Staffordshire.
“In the vast majority of cases we are able to find children a loving family without delay, But we know it can take us longer to find families for some children, like those over 4 years of age, or siblings who need to live together.
“Our regional adoption partnership, Together4Children is working well and we have increased the number of families coming forward to adopt a child over the last 2 years.”
Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi said:
“The importance of a loving, stable family cannot be overstated, no matter what shape it takes.
"Family are crucial in giving children the warmth, background and opportunities they need to succeed in life.
“We launched our National Adoption Strategy last summer and I’m really encouraged to see it is already having a meaningful impact on the adoption system across the country, as waiting times for children in care reduce and they find the loving homes they need.
“Whether it’s through investing in adoption and our expanded Family Hub network, or looking into the findings from the upcoming Care Review, it is my mission to make sure that family stays at the heart of our policy.”
Launched in 2021, the Government’s National Adoption Strategy is improving adoption services in England by putting in place better recruitment across the country and removing any unnecessary delays, through more training for front line staff, improving approval process and funding for targeted recruitment campaigns.
The Department for Education also launched its recruitment campaign to find more adoptive parents in 2019, which includes a focus on prospective parents from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
New data also published today shows an increase in the number of approved adopters waiting to be matched to children in care since the campaign started.
More than 100 more adopters from Minority Ethnic backgrounds were also approved at the end of September 2021: 590 compared to 450 at the end of March 2020 – an increase of more than 30%.
The full announcement can be found here.
Anyone interested in finding out more about adopting a child and making a real difference to their lives can talk with a friendly member of the Together4Children team on 0300 11 8044 or visit their website.