Adoption: Registration

(asked on 24th September 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on ensuring that the most vulnerable children previously matched through the statutory Adoption Register are found adoptive parents.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 3rd October 2019

The Adoption Register closed on 31 March 2019. Children continue to be matched with families, with adoption agencies using a variety of systems where they need to seek interagency matches. We continue to monitor this and robust action will be taken if this changes.

Two thirds of local authorities are now part of a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) which aims to deliver more efficient recruitment of adopters and faster matching of children and families. The vast majority of remaining local authorities are on track to be in a live RAA by the end of 2020.

We are working closely with RAA leaders who are coordinating National Adoption Week, with a strong focus on recruiting adopters for children in situations where it may be harder to place them.

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board collects data regarding the children waiting. The board can hold agencies to account for recruiting the right adopters for the children who are waiting in their area.

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