You don't need a perfect home – just a welcoming one

More people needed as cost of living hits adoption numbers

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A new survey reveals that nearly nine out of 10 adoptive parents were worried they needed a "perfect home" to pass the adoption assessment process.

But the reality is far more modest - with just over two fifths (41 per cent) of adoptive parents surveyed living in a house with two bedrooms or less, two thirds (65 per cent) not having a garden and a quarter living in rented accommodation (25 per cent).

Insights from adoption agencies across the UK show that the cost-of-living crisis has contributed to a decline in the number of people coming forward to adopt - with new data showing a 12 per cent decline in prospective adopter registrations compared with last year.

This means that more children are now facing delays of over 18 months before being matched with a family - an increase compared with the previous year.

On average, it now takes 292 days from the moment a child is approved for adoption, to when they're placed with a family - 11 days longer than last year. These delays highlight the urgent need for more people to consider adoption.

Before adopting, many adopters had concerns about what they could offer a child. This includes concerns about the size of their home (23 per cent) or having too low an income (21 per cent).