40% decrease in number of children waiting to be placed with adopters
Average period between entering care and placement falls from 656 to 594 days
Latest statistics from the Adoption Leadership Board, covering January to March 2015, show that:
- 2,810 children were waiting to be placed at 31 March 2015 – This is a 40% decrease from 31 March 2014 when there were 4,680 children waiting with a placement order not yet placed with an adoptive family.
- Child timeliness has improved – In 2013-14, the average number of days between entering care and placement was 594 days, an improvement from 656 days in 2012-13. Latest quarterly data suggest there has been a further improvement to 533 days during 2014-15. These improvements have been driven by an increase in the proportion of children placed within a year, from 27% in 2013-14 to 36% in 2014-15. At 216 days, the average number of days between placement order and match in 2013-14 was a slight improvement on 2012-13. However, the latest quarterly data suggest that this has increased to 234 days during 2014-15.
- Adopter timeliness is declining – The latest quarterly data suggest timeliness is beginning to decline. In quarter 2 2013-14, 50% of approvals made by local authorities were made within 6 months of registration, while in quarter 4 2014-15 this had decreased to 28% of registrations. The timeliness of matches has also declined. In quarter 4 2013-14, 80% of matches were made within 6 months of approval, compared to 58% in quarter 4 2014-15.
The release is here.
27/8/15