Regional adoption agencies issued a plea for more adopters | Bournemouth Echo

By Fraser SimpsonReporter

16th September

A growing gap between children needing adoption and available families is growing in the South West.

Regional adoption agencies have issued a plea for more adopters as the number of children waiting for a permanent home in the South West has risen by 48 per cent since 2021/22, while adopter registrations have fallen by 19 per cent.

Sarah Johal MBE, national adoption strategic lead at Adoption England, said: “Social workers are unable to find families for all the children who need adoption, but we can change this trajectory.

“The families that these children need are out there.

“They may even be thinking about adoption already but have not come forward yet.”

The new You Can Adopt campaign, Every Day is Everything, hopes to raise awareness of the urgent need for more adopters and highlight the difference a permanent, loving family can make.

Dame Carol Homden, chief executive officer at Coram, said: “Behind every statistic in this report is a child needing the love and stability that a permanent family can provide.

“Our analysis shows a growing gap between the number of children who need adoption and the number of prospective adopters stepping forward, meaning too many children risk spending longer in care during some of the most important years of their lives.”

In 2025/26, 310 children in the South West are expected to need adoption.