THE latest Adoptions Australia report released this week shows that only five adoptions have been finalised in the ACT from 2015-16. 

ACT Shadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services, Elizabeth Kikkert says that the latest adoption figures are an urgent wake-up call for all state and territory governments.

“The number of finalised adoptions in Australia is at a historical low,” says Kikkert.

“According to the latest figures, more than 43,000 Australian kids are in out-of-home care and over 30,000 of these children have been in temporary care arrangements for more than two years.

“Research from both Australia and overseas links temporary care with a number of social problems, including an increased risk of crime and future homelessness and a decreased likelihood of completing school and securing employment.

“Governments have been discussing this problem for far too long but the time for more talk is well and truly past. It is time that governments actually do something.

“This is not just about the families who hope to bring children into their homes on a permanent basis, and neither is it just about the three or four years of sometimes agonising frustration that can occur as the adoption process drags on and on. This is about putting children first.”

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