Adoption red tape 'a myth'

Thousands of children await adoption

Couples trying to adopt children are not frequently rejected by social workers and do not have to wait years for a child to become available, according to a new report.

Nor are they turned down by adoption agencies as too old, the research adds.

The survey by the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, studied 1,295 applicants - and found that they ranged in age from 23 to 58.

Some 91% of adoptive applicants were married couples, 9% single people, with 94% of single applicants female.

In 73% of applications, the final decision had been made about suitability to adopt - 94% had been accepted as adopters.

Approved adopters had been assessed and accepted within 10 months of application.

Two thirds of approved adopters had had children placed with them - the average length of time between approval and placement was 11 months.

Long waits

But one third of approved adopters had had no children placed with them since approval - on average they had been waiting 14 months.

BAAF chief executive Felicity Collier said: "These findings come at an important time when the future of adoption services is under review by the Prime Minister.

"Tribute must be paid to the voluntary adoption agencies for the important contribution made to the adoption of children from care. Voluntary agencies are particularly skilled at placing older children and children from black and mixed parentage backgrounds - 86% of these children were placed in families of a similar ethnic background.

"This study should finally dispel myths that too many adoptive applicants are rejected and that agencies will not approve adopters of a certain age - indeed the age range of the applicants was very wide.

"It is however worrying that so many adopters are still waiting for children more than 14 months after approval. With so many children in local authority care for whom adoption is now the plan, we hope that these findings will encourage the use of voluntary agencies by local authorities across the country.

"We believe that this supports the case for a national register of all adopters and children awaiting adoption."

The report, Children and Families in the Voluntary Sector, contains details about the work of voluntary adoption agencies in England.