Charity appeals for society to remember children in need of home

SOCIETY MUST “never forget” about children who are waiting to be adopted, a charity chief has warned, after figures showed numbers getting a permanent home continue to fall.

Dr Carol Homden, chief executive of children’s charity Coram, said she is concerned that the plight of youngsters waiting to find a new family has fallen off the political agenda amid the “turbulence and uncertainty” of the last year.

She urged potential adopters to come forward, saying that adopting a child is one of the greatest, and most rewarding, challenges a parent can face. Figures published by the Department

for Education earlier this month showed that the number of children being adopted has fallen for the fourth year in a row.

Overall, 3,570 children were adopted in the year ending on March 31, down seven per cent on the previous year, and down a third (33 per cent) from a peak of 5,360 in 2015.

Dr Homden said her charity was seeing a high number of people expressing an interest in adoption, but a reduction in the number who progress their application.

Dr Homden said: “It’s extremely important that the message continues to be conveyed that our most vulnerable children need adopters to come forward, and that that is a priority for society that they do so.”

Dr Homden acknowledged that successive governments have recognised the importance of supporting children in the care system, and enabling them to leave the system into a “long-term permanent loving home”.

She said: “What I’m calling for is that people all across the sector and of all political persuasions remember there are too many children waiting for adoption and we do need to encourage and enable all who could care to come forward.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “Every child deserves to have a loving, stable home that’s right for them - that is why adoption is a top priority for the new Government.

“The Education Secretary recently announced a £46m package of support to prioritise adoption, helping to recruit new adoptive parents and support