Adoption crisis: Children waiting in care rises 45%

THE UK is facing an adoption crisis with children waiting longer in care to be homed.

- BY LOTTI O'BRIEN

As of June, 2,940 children were waiting to be placed with a family, an increase of 45.5% in three years.

However the number of adults waiting to adopt fell to 1,420, a drop of 42.7%, according to Department for Education data. Now Adoption Focus has launched The Long Wait, a campaign which will highlight the urgent need for more adoptive parents and to challenge misconceptions.

Anna Sharkey, CEO of the voluntary adoption agency, said the “shocking” part is that children are considered “too old” when they are as young as four.

She said: “When people are thinking about adoption, people are still tending to think about very young children.