Children left in adoption limbo as thousands taken into care
London is facing an adoption crisis with almost 11,000 children living in temporary accommodation in desperate need of permanent homes.
The astonishing figure comes as welfare organisations warn that soaring numbers are being taken into care and there are not enough homes for them to be placed in.
According to official statistics, there are 10,970 children in care across London; of these, only 290 have been adopted. It is the first time in five years that the figure has increased.
Local authorities and adoption organisations fear the situation will only get worse, with rising numbers of youngsters removed from troubled homes.
Sutton council alone has experienced a 25 per cent increase in children going into care over the last eight months. It has 102 children in foster homes in the borough, and up to 50 in homes outside the area.
The council said the trend was mirrored throughout the capital. Experts agree, saying the rise has partly been triggered by lessons learned over the Baby P tragedy.
As care proceedings are on the rise, courts are taking longer to process applications, meaning children recommended for adoption are having to wait much longer in foster homes than before.
Care proceedings in London have a target of 40 weeks — but quite often cases take 60 to 70 weeks to go through court.
Dave Callaghan, Sutton council's executive member for children, families and youth services, said the capital was facing an adoption timebomb.
"At some point the system will fail to cope and the only ones losing out are the children right at the centre of it," he said. "The situation is not unique to Sutton, it is a London-wide problem." The figures, compiled by the Department for Education, show the number of children in care up to the end of March. Since 2006, numbers have been in decline, until the jump this year.
Jonathan Pearce, chief executive of charity Adoption UK, said: "The damage they have been subjected to in the homes they have come from will be compounded by the constant delays and stays with foster families."
Elizabeth Webb, assistant director for children's services at The Adolescent and Children's Fund, added: "We know there has been a rise in care proceedings since the Baby P tragedy, so it is only expected there will be a rise in adoptions. It shows local authorities are taking a more pro-active stance."
