Industry News: Chief Executive of The Who Cares? Trust says exclusive focus on adoption will not help majority of children in care

‘Government figures suggest there are 6,770 children in England waiting for adoption. Where adoption is the right choice for a particular child, we welcome measures that minimise unnecessary delays in the adoption process.

However, we must not forget that there are currently 65,520 children in the care system in England, an all-time high. For many children in care adoption may not be the right answer.  They may stay in the system for a short time, have complex needs or simply not wish to be adopted. Rather than adoption being promoted almost as a panacea, we would like to see more discussion of how to improve the experience of all children in the care system.

There is evidence of what makes a real difference to the experiences and outcomes of children in care and these things need to be put into practice and properly resourced.  More and better recruitment, training and support of foster carers and more high quality residential provision are crucial if we are to ensure that supply can meet demand in the care system.  Only by doing this can we provide the best possible placement for every child coming into care and help them achieve the outcomes they deserve.’

Natasha Finlayson
Chief Executive, The Who Cares? Trust

Source: www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk