Highest Score wins the bonuses. Grandparents Apart UK
By Lauren Higgs Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Cards designed to strengthen local authority accountability on adoption. Image: Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
It is part of a series of recommendations designed to strengthen local authority accountability on adoption and overhaul the assessment system for prospective adopters.
The new scorecards will be published in a matter of weeks and will highlight three key indicators.
The first will measure the average time it takes for a child identified for adoption to actually move in with their new family, the second will look at the proportion of children who wait longer for adoption than they should, and the third will measure the average time it takes to match a child to an adoptive family.
There will be a fast-track process for people who have adopted before, or who are already approved foster carers who wish to adopt a child in their care. The government will consult on the necessary regulatory changes later this year.
In addition, a new "national gateway" for adoption will provide a first point of contact for anyone interested in adoption through a telephone helpline and website.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said the case for urgent and radical reform of the adoption system is clear. "For too long, children in care have been let down by local authorities and the family justice system," he said.
"I believe scorecards will shine a light on which authorities are doing well and which ones need to improve. Local authorities should be in no doubt that we expect to see improvements in the coming months."
Martin Narey, the government’s ministerial adviser on adoption, said the action plan would lead to radical improvements in the adoption system.
"The government's unequivocal message today is not about how much delay is acceptable," he said. "It makes clear that no amount of delay is acceptable."
But Matt Dunkley, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, warned that local authorities could not reform the adoption system alone.
"Any attempts to improve performance of individual local authorities must take the performance of the wider system into account – without that, there is a limit to what local authorities can achieve," he said.
Nushra Mansuri, professional officer from the British Association of Social Workers, added: "Adoption league tables or score cards will not give an accurate picture of how well local authorities are supporting vulnerable children."
She went on: "In essence, we are going back to a discredited system that merely perpetuates the blame culture and undermines social workers’ confidence in making decisions about children, as they contemplate how this will impact on their council’s 'score'."
