THE charity Parents and Children Together (PACT) has placed its
first children for adoption under a new scheme to find families for
children who have been in care the longest.
Twin girls, aged five, are the first to be placed by the charity
under the It's All About Me (IAAM) scheme, which includes six other
fostering and adoption agencies.
It prioritises children who have been in care the longest, or
have more complex needs. Eight children have so far been in placed
in total under the scheme, which provides adopters with additional
training and support before and after adoption.
The twin girls had been in care for two years, after suffering
neglect in their early years, and consequent developmental
delay.
In England, more than 4000 children are waiting to be adopted,
many of whom are aged over three. The older the child gets, the
harder it is to find adoptive parents for him or her.
The Office for National Statistics reports the latest figures
available for the number of children being adopted in 2012 in
England and Wales as more than 5000, the highest figure since
2005.
PACT's IAAM manager, Amanda Davies, said: "We are excited to be
placing our first children with a fantastic family through the IAAM
scheme.
"Without us identifying adoptive parents, it is likely that the
children would have remained in long-term foster care or may have
been separated."
PACT, based in Reading, was first set up by the then Bishop of
Oxford in 1911, as the Oxford Diocesan Council for Moral Welfare.
It is still supported by the diocese, which is represented on the
Board of Trustees.