Responding to the announcement of new funding to support families
adopting, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government
Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:
“Councils share the Government’s ambition to make sure that
children in care have stable, loving homes, including through
adoption where appropriate. This announcement of £160 million of
additional funding to help reduce delays in children being
matched with their adoptive families is positive, as is the
ongoing work within Regional Adoption Agencies to match children
with their adoptive families more quickly.
“Sadly, despite the number of approved adopters increasing for
some years, there are children who have been waiting for more
than 18 months to be placed with adoptive families.
“Adopters tell us that ongoing support is vital and we have long
called for the Adoption Support Fund to be extended, so we are
pleased that adoptive families and adoption agencies now have
certainty over this funding for several years.
“We would now ask Government to extend this investment to aid the
recruitment and retention of foster carers and the children’s
homes workforce, alongside additional support for kinship care,
to make sure that every child can live in the home that’s right
for them.”
