More children adopted in Wales with fewer in local authority care

More children in Wales are being adopted with fewer in the care of local authorities, new statistics published by the Welsh Government show.

According to the figures, on 5,617 children in Wales were looked after by Welsh local authorities on March 31, 2015, a decrease of 128 (2.2%) over the previous year.

The statistics also show there were 383 children adopted from care over the same period, up by 38 (11%) over the previous year.

Ministers have established and invested significantly in programmes, including Flying Start and the Integrated Family Support Service, which aim to keep families together, helping to give children the very best start in life.

A strategic steering group on improving outcomes for children has been set up to develop a national approach towards looked-after children, which will focus on prevention and early intervention, promote improved collaborative working across agencies and identify and share good practice.  

Wales’ new National Adoption Service, which was launched in November, is promoting adoption and working to increase the pool of adopters.

Health and Social Services Minister, Mark Drakeford said: “I believe we take too many children into the care of local authorities. We need to do more to repair families where we can instead of rescuing children and putting them into care. I am encouraged to see the number of children looked after by our local authorities has fallen this year.

“I’m also delighted to see the number of children being adopted has increased. I want to pay tribute to the families who have been ready and willing to give some of our most vulnerable children the love and stability of a new family and to the hard work of local government and third sector agencies which provide the crucial support these families need.”