Thousands of children a year are put up for adoption. Many are not placed. Debbie Waite reports

Every year about 5,000 children are put up for adoption and of those about 2,500 are quickly found homes by their local authority.

The other half are put on the national adoption register and become available to be ‘picked’ by any parent who has been approved by a voluntary adoption agency or council.

However, about 80 per cent of this group do not find homes — usually due to their age, their ethnicity, the fact they are one of a group of siblings, or that they have complex needs or a disability — and these children often spend the rest of their childhood in foster care or in care homes.

In 2011, Oxfordshire had 450 children in its care and the county has fared well in the adoption league tables, with 87 per cent of looked-after children finding adoption places within 12 months during the period 2009-2012.

But there are still many children languishing in care for long periods because of their more complex needs.

A new scheme being piloted in the county is not only aimed at recruiting prospective adoptive parents for more challenging children, but could also save Oxfordshire and other councils money on their care bills.

Accountant Jim Clifford and his wife Sue have adopted nine children, all of whom have been difficult to place with families.

But Mr Clifford, who is himself adopted, believes he has created a new concept in adopting which could result in 300 such children being found ‘forever families’ each year and he believes Oxford-based adoption agency Parents and Children Together (PACT) can help make it a success.

Mr Clifford’s scheme, It’s All About Me — or IAAM — was launched last month at the Houses of Parliament and works by selecting the correct child for the correct parents.

As part of IAAM children’s needs are assessed by a psychiatrist which is followed by weeks of training the new parents on how to deal with that particular child by experienced social workers.

It also operates on a ‘payment-by-results’ model and will see councils including Oxfordshire County Council paying £54,000 over two years, on each adoption that proves successful.

The fee is about double the amount councils currently pay to voluntary adoption agencies to place a child but is only a little over the £50k it costs to keep a child in foster care each year.

It is paid in four stages — a small amount on registration to the scheme, a larger amount when the child is placed and moves in, a further amount one year in, and a final amount two years in.

Mr Clifford said: “We have had a fantastic response to the scheme from councils so far. As well as improving outcomes for young people, it should also help councils save money and improve long term planning for children in their care.”

Mr Clifford adopted his ninth child Maisie from Oxford voluntary adoption agency Parents and Children Together (PACT), and PACT has been chosen as one of 18 voluntary adoption agencies to take IAAM forward.

PACT placed 104 children with adoptive families across the south in 2012 — more than any other voluntary adoption agency in the country.

Chief executive Jan Fishwick said: “There are many families who have a desire to adopt and who would provide a loving, stable home for these children. However, they may not have considered adopting an older child, they may doubt their own abilities, or be worried about a lack of long-term support.

“It isn’t easy; many of these children have a background of abuse or neglect. They can be withdrawn, aggressive and show risky behaviour — adopting these children can be a vocation.

“But we hope that this scheme will encourage them to come forward in the knowledge that they will receive comprehensive training and guaranteed guidance and support throughout the early years — and 100 children will find loving families in the first year and even more thereafter.”

Helen and Chris Kendrick adopted a brother and sister, now 12 and 13, four-and-a-half years ago. Helen is the vicar of Sutton Courtenay and Appleford and Mr Kendrick is an Oxford Brookes lecturer.

Rev Kendrick, 47, said: “There have been nights when we have felt despair and we undoubtedly have a lot more grey hairs since we became parents, but our PACT social worker helped us enormously with his patient support throughout the process, and we found Theraplay offered by PACT’s therapeutic services helped us enormously in the early months of adoption.

“Although adopting is the hardest thing you can do, the hardest things are often the most rewarding and we cannot imagine life not as a family now.”

PACT will be running an information evening on January 16, 2014, from 7pm-8.30pm, at the PACT office, CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford.

For more details on this and how to adopt with PACT visit pactcharity.org, or call 0207 592 3923.