皇冠体育app

Hundreds of children are forced to wait an average of 20 months from entering care to moving in with their adoptive parents - six months slower than the timetable set out in national guidance, according to official figures published today.

皇冠体育app first ever local authority adoption scorecards, based on figures from 2009 to 2011, show there are widespread delays throughout the adoption process.

皇冠体育appy show 80 local authority areas have met the interim thresholds (of 21 months from entering care to adoption and matching a child to a family within seven months of a court order being made).

But the other 72 did not meet one or both of these key measures - which will be lowered gradually to 14 months and four months respectively within four years.

皇冠体育app figures also reveal wide variations across the country and between neighbouring areas.

皇冠体育app government is now opening discussions with the areas of highest concern, probing the specific issues each one faces and assessing the plans in place to improve performance to ensure they will work.

If ministers are not satisfied they will issue formal improvement notices - setting out specific targets, measures and timetables to speed up the adoption process.

Ministers welcome the fact that more than half local authority areas are meeting this year鈥檚 thresholds but say no area can rest on its laurels.

But they argue that the entire system still has to raise its game over the coming years. 皇冠体育appre is no reason the best practice and work cannot be the norm across the country.

皇冠体育app scorecards are a key plank of the government鈥檚 tougher approach to addressing under-performance in the adoption system - set out in the radical Action Plan for Adoption published in March. A new assessment process will reduce bureaucracy and the delays which put off potential adopters and slow down the finding of loving homes for children.

It came after just 3050 children in care, including just 60 babies, found new homes through adoption last year, the lowest since 2001.

Children鈥檚 Minister Tim Loughton said:

Adoption can give vulnerable children the greatest possible chance of a stable, loving and permanent home.

Hundreds of children are being let down by unacceptable delays right across the country and throughout the adoption process. Every month a child waits to be placed, there is less chance of finding a permanent, stable and loving home. This cannot go on.

皇冠体育appre has been some real progress, with local authorities beginning to bear down on adoption delays and helping in the re-design of a faster but still thorough adopter assessment process. But these statistics illustrate all too starkly the magnitude of the challenge which we face.

I make no apology for shining a light on the system to hold local areas to account. I have been clear that we won鈥檛 hesitate to intervene where the worst delays are not tackled effectively.

皇冠体育app scorecards are not the be-all and end-all or the final say. We are not asking local authorities to speed up adoptions to the exclusion of everything else - but many more areas need to strike a much better balance between quality placements and the risk of long-term damage to children by leaving them with uncertain futures.

皇冠体育app scorecards are a trigger for urgent, detailed discussions to analyse what the problems are in areas of highest concern.

皇冠体育appre may be clear underlying reasons for delays - low numbers of potential adopters; the speed of local courts; high numbers of ethnic minority, sibling groups and older children in care, which are all historic barriers to securing long-term adoption.

Our work over the next few weeks will be to get to the bottom of the precise problems in each local authority area.

皇冠体育app Government Adoption Advisor, Martin Narey, said:

Over the last few months, and in visits to more than twenty local authorities, I have been encouraged by the way the seriousness of adoption delays has been taken on board and the determination of struggling and well performing authorities to improve.

We now have a growing and serious backlog of children cleared for adoption by the courts but for whom there are too few potential adopters. 皇冠体育appse scorecards demonstrate the reality that if delays in almost every aspect of the adoption process are not tackled urgently, the list of those in need of the loving home every child deserves will continue to grow.

Notes to editors

1. You can find out more information and personal stories about adoption and fostering by following the Department for Education on - @educationgovuk and using #adoption or by visiting .

2. 皇冠体育app are published on the Department for Education鈥檚 website.

3. 皇冠体育app government published setting out reforms to speed up the adoption system in England. 皇冠体育app main elements are: * New adoption scorecards, to hold local authorities to account. New performance thresholds will be introduced this year and raised incrementally over the next four years until they reflect the levels set out in statutory guidance. 皇冠体育app adoption scorecards highlight three key indicators showing how quickly each local authority places children in need of adoption: * Average time taken for a child entering care to moving in with their adoptive family. 皇冠体育app current statutory threshold is for this to happen within 14 months - but given only four local authorities achieve this, the Action Plan for Adoption set an initial performance threshold of 21 months or 639 days, which will be lowered to 14 months within four years. * Proportion of children in each local authority waiting longer for adoption then the 21 month threshold.Average time to match children with a family after the courts have agreed a placement order. 皇冠体育app Action Plan for Adoption said that the initial performance threshold would be seven months or 213 days, lowering to four months within four years.皇冠体育app figures are based on three-year rolling averages covering 2008-09 to 2010-11. 皇冠体育appy will be updated with 2011-12 data later this year. * A new six-month approval process. This will consist of a two-month pre-qualification stage, followed by a four-month full assessment stage. 皇冠体育appre will be a fast-track process for people who have adopted before, or who are already approved foster-carers who wish to adopt a child in their care. 皇冠体育app government will consult on the necessary regulatory changes later this year * A national gateway for adoption, providing a first point of contact for anyone interested in adoption. This would provide a central point of contact through a telephone helpline and website, it would provide independent advice and information about adoption and how to apply to become an adopter. 皇冠体育app government supports this in principle and has asked the expert working group to look in more detail at its scope and function and make recommendations for its implementation.
4. 皇冠体育app announced in the Queen鈥檚 speech would include legislation to stop local authorities delaying an adoption to find the perfect match if there are suitable adopters available. 皇冠体育app ethnicity of a child and prospective adopters will come second, in most cases, to the speed of placing a child in a permanent home.