North East becomes home to Regional Adoption Agencies

There will be two RAAs in the North East Credit: PA

New measures announced today aim to help children waiting to be adopted in the North East find stable, loving homes quicker than ever before.

Eight councils from across the region have been handpicked by the government to form two of the country’s first Regional Adoption Agencies.

These are brand new groupings of local councils and voluntary adoption agencies that join forces with one single purpose - to place children waiting for adoption with their forever family without delay.

Research shows that when placing children for adoption, sometimes councils tend to concentrate their efforts on finding local parents first, rather than looking further afield for what might be a better match.

This can lead to children waiting much longer than necessary when parents are readily available.

Encouraging councils and adoption agencies to work together will act as a triple win – giving councils a greater pool of adoptive parents to match with children, making adoption support services more widely available and better targeting the recruitment of adopters.

  • The first Regional Adoption Agency will be led by Middlesbrough Borough Council, and will consist of Middlesbrough, Hartlepool Borough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, and Darlington and Stockton.

  • The second Regional Adoption Agency will be led by Newcastle City Council, and will consist of Newcastle, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council and Gateshead Council.