Coronavirus: Government confirms extra funding to support adoptive families

The education secretary has also announced a further £2.8m in funding for Voluntary Adoption Agencies.

The money will allow them to continue to deliver their adoption activities during the pandemic, including recruiting adopters to be matched with children waiting.

However, Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan expressed concern that the pandemic will likely increase pressure on the care system and said that emergency funding is vital.

‘In the longer term we need a step change in support for children who cannot live with their birth families. This includes further support for children and their adoptive parents, support for relatives providing care, and better matching systems to ensure all children find the right family as soon as possible,’ he added.

‘The Government has already promised a review of the care system and this must now progress with urgency, so it can respond to any increase in demand as a result of the pandemic and help ensure more children in care achieve a positive future.’

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned that too much bureaucracy is making it harder for people to adopt resulting in too many children ‘bouncing around’ the care system.

In a speech to coincide with National Adoption week, the education secretary said ‘too many lifestyle judgements’ are made on potential adopters, with the consequence that there are not enough adoptive parents to go around. As a result, children have to wait to gain a stable home.

Mr Williamson also called for an end to an ‘obsession with finding the perfect ethnic match for children’, with Black and Minority Ethnic children often wait the longest to be adopted. He stated that there is no acceptable reason why adopters should be blocked from registering simply because there are no children of the same ethnicity waiting to be adopted.

Figures published last week show that there are currently around 2,400 children waiting for adoption but just over 1,800 approved adopters who are ready to give them a home.

While safeguards must not be relaxed and checks must remain in place, the education secretary announced his intention to change the process that leads to lifestyle-judging that is making adoption a daunting experience for many. He said, ‘When it comes to adoption, what we have seen over a number of years is something I can only call narrow mindedness or even snobbery.

‘For example, some local authorities make it harder to adopt if you rent your home rather than own it, or if you’re not a perfect ethnic match. These outdated messages are putting off people who would otherwise come forward when the only qualification you need is the ability to love and care for a child.

‘I am urging local authorities to help us break down these barriers so that we can unite more children with the families they deserve so much.’

Dr Krish Kandiah, founding director of Home for Good, said, ‘We have been delighted to play our part in addressing the persistent racial disparity in adoption and are so encouraged to see a continued commitment to this critically important issue from the secretary of state. It has been our privilege at Home for Good to assist with training hundreds of social workers across the country in faith and cultural literacy and to pilot a new project helping to find adopters of Black children waiting for adoption.

‘We are grateful for the funding that the Government has made available for this work. We recognise that lasting change is a marathon and not a sprint, so greatly look forward to working together to find a loving, safe and permanent family for every child who needs one.’

The Government also said its Adoption Support Fund has provided nearly 61,000 adoptive and special guardianship order families across the country with therapeutic support since its launch in 2015, backed by nearly £175 million.