A new regional adoption agency launching in Havering today (Tuesday, 1 October 2019) will help speed up the process of finding adopters for vulnerable children across East London.
Adopt London East, led by Havering Council, sees the borough’s adoption team joining forces with Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Tower Hamlets councils, to boost the number of people coming forward to adopt children in care and reduce the length of time children wait to be adopted.
It will also give extra support to people wishing to adopt.
Councillor Robert Benham, Cabinet member for Children, Education and Families, said:
“By working together with our neighbouring authorities, we’re now in a position to speed up the matching process for children waiting in care with potential adopters, while also cutting down the time children spend waiting for adopters to come forward.
“Havering is pleased to be leading the regional group, as by working together as a team, we’ll be able to reduce the number of agencies that provide adoption services and make it quicker and easier for prospective adopters from across East London to be assessed and approved.
“This new approach to adoption will help children in care to move in to their adoptive family at a younger age, with the aim of improving the overall well-being of our children and young people in their new families.”
The new agency is a response to a Government mandate that all local authorities must join a regional adoption agency by April 2020.
Across London, most local authorities have chosen to join one of four local authority led agencies, while some have chosen to join a charity-led agency.
Staff from the new agency will be based at Adopt London East’s head office in Romford, but will also maintain a base in their local authority.