North West Councils join forces to end delay for children awaiting adoption

CHILDREN waiting to be adopted in the North West are to be found stable, loving homes quicker than ever before thanks to new measures announced. 20 Councils from across the region have been handpicked by the government to form 4 of the England's 1st Regional Adoption Agencies, brand new groupings of of local Councils and voluntary adoption agencies that join forces with 1 single purpose; to place children waiting for adoption with their forever family without delay.

Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson, who grew up with 2 adopted brothers, said:- "Every single day a child in the North West spends waiting in care for their new family is a further delay to a life full of love and stability... And so I'm delighted to announce the region as one of the 1st Regional Adoption Agencies.  Where adoption is proven to be in the best interest of the child, we have a duty to make sure they're matched quickly with the parents right for them; regardless of where they live. By coming together and joining forces, councils and adoption agencies across the region will be able to reach across artificial boundaries and access an ever growing pool of approved adopters, creating families quickly and successfully."

Research shows that when placing children for adoption, Councils tend to concentrate their efforts on finding local parents 1st, rather than looking further afield for what might be a better match. This can lead to children waiting much longer than necessary when parents are readily available.

Encouraging councils and adoption agencies to work together will act as a triple win; giving Councils a greater pool of adoptive parents to match with children, making adoption support services more widely available and better targeting the recruitment of adopters.

The Government will provide financial and practical support for Councils and adoption agencies to enable them to bring services together regionally, and implement the greatest step change in the way children are matched for adoption in a generation. So this announcement is being shown by some as evidence of the Government's commitment to reform the adoption system so children waiting are provided with stable and loving homes much more swiftly, giving them the opportunity to settle and bond with their new family. But what do you think about this?  Please send us your thoughts and views by emailing us at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.

The government is reported to have:-

► Provided £30m to speed up the finding of adoptive parents in England by covering the costs incurred by Councils who find parents beyond their geographical boundaries.

► Introduced Regional Adoption Agencies to place children waiting for stable loving homes, quickly.

► Removed barriers by ensuring ethnicity is not prioritised over other factors, such as the ability to provide a stable, loving home.

► Introduced new rules requiring Councils to actively consider fostering for adoption places where appropriate, allowing children to move in with their adoptive family much earlier.

► Placed mandatory requirement on all Councils to tell prospective adopters about their entitlements.

► Extended pupil premium funding and priority School admissions so that all children adopted from care are eligible for extra funding at School.

► Empowered adoptive parents to choose the School that will best meet their child's needs.

Mecca Bingo Employees Use Clock Change To Show Caring Side

TEAM members at Mecca Bingo Southport at Lord Street are gearing up to help try and raise as much money as possible for Carers Trust as the clocks go back. Whilst most of the UK will be looking forward to an extra hour in bed, the team at Mecca Southport has been using the additional time to participate in a whole host of challenges and fundraising events to support the over 7 million carers in the UK who provide round the clock care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The partnership between the charity and the Rank Group, which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, began in February 2014 and has seen employees at the Southport Mecca Bingo club take part in a host of different activities throughout the year to raise much needed funds.  The events take place as research shows that as the clocks go back, many carers wish they had a spare hour to catch up on sleep or get out and about and be active.  25% of carers surveyed would take part in some exercise or hobby and 22% would catch up on some much needed sleep.

Brian Hennigan, club manager at Mecca Southport, commented:- "At Mecca Southport we really appreciate the work that carers do and it's always nice to do something for them. Carers Trust is an organisation that is close to the heart of many of our employees and our customers are absolutely fantastic and always get involved and support our fundraising efforts. We're hoping our fundraising will raise an amazing amount of money to help carers in our local community."

Cherry Tatlow, Rank Cares manager, said:- "It's a sobering thought to think that 3 out of 5 of us will become carers at some point in our lives.  I'd like to say a massive thanks to our team members and kind hearted customers who are helping to raise desperately needed funds for Carers Trust. There are no words to describe the importance of what these carers do in our community, and it's an honour to know how much we've been able to help since the start of our partnership."

Gail Scott-Spicer, CEO of Carers Trust, added:- "We're delighted that employees at Mecca, are dedicating the extra hour to raising money to support unpaid carers. The money employees and customers raise will help Carers Trust to support thousands of unpaid carers through a grants fund, to give carers the equipment and skills they need to carry out their caring roles, whilst also ensuring that their own health and wellbeing are looked after."