There could be up to 4.6 million people in England who say they would consider adopting at some point in the future, research has shown.
A study commissioned by the Government found that many people are being held back from adoption or fostering due to concerns about the process of being approved.
Under new plans to overhaul the adoption and fostering system:
There will be a two-stage approval process for adopters, which the Government insists will make the system swifter and mean the majority of adopters are approved to within six months
A "fast-track" system for previously approved foster carers and adopters
Legal obligations on adoption agencies to refer would-be adopters to the Adoption Register within three months of approval
The plans will aim to make sure that the information on children waiting to be adopted is kept up to date
A new "adoption passport" will set out the help that adopters could be eligible for, including paid adoption leave, priority access and social housing.
The guide will be available on the First4adoption website.
For too long children have been left waiting - in many cases over two years - for the stable, loving homes whilst prospective adopters have been dissuaded from offering those children the security they need.
So we're overhauling the system to encourage more people to adopt, and making it swifter, more effective and robust.
'Adoption passport' aimed at speeding up the process
A guide for would-be adopters listing benefits and support has been published by the Government amid concerns that hundreds of thousands are turned off by the process.
The "adoption passport" is part of an ongoing bid to speed up the process due to fears that children are waiting too long to find a new home.
Some children can be left waiting three years for an adoptive family Credit: Edmond Terakopian/PA Wire
Latest figures show that children in England are left in care for nearly 21 months on average before being adopted.
In some cases, youngsters can wait three years before moving in with an adoptive family.
Children more likely to be adopted under four years old
According to children's charity Barnardos, children in need of adoption are being left to grow up without a family because of their ethnicity, age, disability or brothers and sisters.
A white child is three times more likely to be adopted as a black child
The proportion of children being adopted drops from one in three when a child is age four or younger to one in 15 when that child turns five
Approximately 40 per cent of children waiting for a new permanent family have some form of special need
Nearly fifty per cent of the children on the adoption register are in sibling groups
Two out of three fostering services have to split brothers and sisters up because there are not enough foster carers willing to take siblings
Children's charity Barnardos are highlighting the fact that 7,000 children are currently waiting to be adopted.
It is the highest number of children since 2007.
The highest number of children since 2007 are currently waiting to be adopted Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
This morning, Barnardos will bring to light the plight of these young people by projecting four images captioned, 'Too old, Too many, Too difficult and Too black' on to the walls of the V&A Museum of Childhood in London, as its Fostering and Adoption Week begins.
Francesca Polini ended up adopting abroad after facing, what she describes, as too many hurdles in the UK. Speaking to Daybreak, she says a new helpline which offers advice from existing adopters on the process is "a gimmick".
She says there is little point promoting adoption without offering a robust framework that parents and children need.
Thousands of children in Britain are left waiting to find new families as couples desperate to adopt struggle to wade through red tape.
This morning a new helpline is being launched by the Government to try and speed up the process, Families Minister Edward Timpson told ITV Daybreak that the process can take as long as two and half years.
He said that the Government aims to reform the whole of the adoption process and get the 4,000 children currently in care into a loving home.
