Nearly 100,000 Children in Britain will spend Mother’s Day in Care

Research carried out by a children’s newspaper has found that 93,000 children in Britain will be spending Mother’s Day in care this year.

The number of children no longer being looked after by their parents has been rising for the last seven years.

First News also found that while the number of children in care continues to rise, the number of children being put forward for adoption is falling.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan says: “We are deeply concerned about the drastic 24 per cent fall in the number of children being put forward for adoption. It’s crucial that local authorities don’t shy away from acting decisively on adoption. These can be tough decisions, but the best interests of children must be put first.”

According the First4Adotion, there are more than 2,800 children in England waiting to be adopted, with the average age of children four years of age. Children in care are waiting an average of 18 months to be placed with an adopted family.

For First4Adoption, Chris Burton said: “Sadly, there is a shortage of parents coming forward to adopt children over four and a desperate need to find families for black and minority ethnic children, those with a disability or brothers and sisters together.”