Comment on Demos research commissioned by Barnardo's
28 June 2010 The UK’s first children’s charity, Coram, comments on Demos’ research supported by Barnardo's into the hidden costs of delay and indecision in the care system
Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent, Director of Operations, Coram says:
“There are a small number of babies and young children for whom it is clear very early in their lives or even before they are born that there is a serious risk to their welfare if they stay with their own parents. For these children there is clear evidence that early decision-making and planning to secure an early and enduring attachment with a caring parent gives them the best chance in life.
We therefore welcome the call for increased funding of concurrent planning, but this approach does not need piloting. We know it works, and more children could benefit from it if it was more widely available. Finance is a real barrier, but another is a system that too often fails to face up to decisions for children soon enough to save them from being moved far too many times.”
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For further media information, or to be put in contact with families who have adopted through concurrent planning, please contact Roberta Goldstein on 020 7520 0346 or email roberta@coram.org.uk
Notes to editor
Coram has been running its concurrent planning programme for 10 years. Babies are placed with specialist foster carers who will go onto adopt the baby if the courts decide it is not possible for them to be returned to the birth parents. It aims to reduce the amount of disruption to babies in care whilst going through care proceedings.
