Commenting on the Government’s plans to speed up adoption rates and double the number of children in care who are adopted, Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England said:
“Government’s continued focus on adoption as a route to permamence for children is welcome and is an important aspect of raising the aspirations and outcomes of children in care.
“It is, of course, vital that the individual circumstances of each child are taken into account when decisions are made about who cares for them, and also that these decisions are made in the interests of the particular child, so I would like to see more adoptive and foster families coming forward to take on these important roles.
“The emergence of Family Group Conferences as a mechanism to inform the assessment of the best interests of the child is also welcome, and ongoing support for adoptive families is essential.”