WIREDGOV

Hundreds of children are forced to wait an average of 20 months from entering care to moving in with their adoptive parents – six months slower than the timetable set out in national guidance, according to official figures published recently.

The first ever local authority adoption scorecards, based on figures from 2009 to 2011, show there are widespread delays throughout the adoption process.

They show 80 local authority areas have met the interim thresholds (of 21 months from entering care to adoption and matching a child to a family within seven months of a court order being made).

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