News

The long term viability of the national adoption register has been questioned after it emerged the register is failing to find adoptive parents for the hardest to place children, writes Derren Hayes.

A year after being set up the register, one of the government’s flagship initiatives to boost adoption rates, has failed to make a single ‘match’ in 12 local authority, and voluntary agencies across the country contacted by Community Care .

The department of health and Norwood, the voluntary agency that runs the register on behalf of the doh, have refused to reveal the number of matches made in the past 12 months, but anecdotal evidence from adoption experts suggests it could be no more than a handful.

The register is supposed to suggest links between children awaiting adoption and potential adopters, encourage closer links between local and regional adoption groups, and collate information on adoption to inform on trends and best practice.

To date, adoption agencies across England have placed the names of 1,700 children and 1,400 approved adopters on the register. These children are often the hardest to place, such as those aged over 5, groups of siblings, or those of ethnic minority origin or with medical or behavioural problems.

Ann Davison, team leader of Chester-based voluntary agency Adoption Matters, said the register would always struggle to find enough adopters prepared to take on the more difficult children.

"Local authorities are struggling to place the same children. This is a well meaning initiative, but what we’re seeing is that the number of adopters to adoptees doesn’t marry up," she explained.

Other adoption experts are also concerned that the register will be hampered by onerous administration, restrictive financial arrangements and lack of resources on the ground.

Philly Morrall, director of Adoption UK, said none of its 1,500 potential adopters had been matched through the register.

Since April this year, it has been mandatory for adoption agencies to feed into the register the details of children they have failed to place after six months, and of approved adopters they have failed to match with a child after nine months.