New adoption agencies to attract over 300 adopters

7 Apr 2014 10:24 AM

New agencies to find stable, loving homes for children waiting to be adopted. 

Three new voluntary adoption agencies will opened their doors for business last week, as part of a £16 million government drive to encourage more people to adopt.

The agencies have each committed to recruit over 100 adopters in their first 3 years, finding stable, loving homes for vulnerable children who are waiting to be adopted - particularly those children who are harder to place.

Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson, who has 2 adopted brothers himself, said:

It’s great to see 3 new agencies opening their doors today as a direct result of the government’s investment, finding and helping up to 300 potential adopters across the country.

With more than 6,000 children still waiting for a loving home, it’s vital we continue to do all that we can to recruit new parents and give voluntary adoption agencies a key role in boosting the number of adopters further.

Research published last year by the Department for Education shows that there could be up to 4 million people in England likely to consider adopting at some point in the future.

Of these, over 650,000 say they are actively considering adopting imminently, yet up and down the country we know there are still 6,000 children waiting to be adopted.

Last summer the government made over £16 million available to help voluntary adoption agencies expand in order to address the shortfall of adopters and place children who need stable homes more quickly.

Each of the new agencies - based in a different region of the country - has been awarded a start-up grant of around £500,000 to help prepare and support people who want to become adoptive parents.

The money - available until 2016 - also consists of:

There are already 25 VAAs in England, who in 2012 to 2013 have recruited and approved over 600 desperately needed parents for the thousands of children waiting for a stable home. VAAs work alongside local authorities in recruiting and assessing prospective adopters, before creating a match with a child who is waiting for a loving home.

The government has also announced that the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies has been appointed to oversee the £13 million expansion fund, distributing grants to successful agencies, in conjunction with Methods Consultancy who will lead on providing tailored business support to agencies to help improve efficiency and plan growth.

This is the latest in a series of reforms the government has made to address the chronic shortage of adopters and reform the way they are recruited, including:

Notes to editor

The 3 new VAAs announced today are:

The 3 VAAs are newly registered as adoption agencies with Ofsted. These new independent agencies are exploring different and new models of delivery and will be an important addition to the current range of VAAs.

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