Almost a fifth of families who adopted a child last year and requested post adoption support from their Local Authority did not receive any support, according to charity Adoption UK.
An information release from Ofsted shows that 1,122 families who adopted children in England in the year April 2012 to March 2013 requested a post adoption support assessment yet only 81% were given support during that year.
Adoption UK’s Chief Executive Hugh Thornbery said:
“For adoption placements to succeed they must be well supported, from the very beginning of the process. The majority of children adopted from the care system have come from a background of abuse or neglect. Adoption UK knows from its membership that appropriate support packages are vital for those parenting some of society’s most traumatised children.
“It is encouraging to see that the number of approved adoptive families increased by 18% in the year ending March 2013; a net increase of 748 families. Adoption UK is pleased that more initial enquiries from prospective adopters progressed into applications from people wishing to adopt with the number of applications that were approved increasing by 34% compared to the previous year.
“Initiatives such as the launch of the National Gateway for Adoption – First4Adoption, the Adoption passport and other reforms are clearly producing results with more people coming forward to find out about adoption and learn about providing a permanent family to a child who may otherwise remain in the care system.”
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