A government taskforce is to come to the rescue of Coventry’s social services department after it was revealed to have one of the worst adoption records in the country.

The authority has been named in the worst eight in the country in terms of how many of their “looked after” children are placed with adoptive parents.

Each council will be visited buy a team of five or six members to find ways to improve the situation.

The move was announced by Health Minister John Hutton at the same time that a fresh appeal was made for would-be adoptive parents to come forward in Coventry.

There will be a stand in West Orchards Shopping Centre tomorrow to give interested people more information on fostering and adopting in the city.

There are 25 children needing adoptive parents currently in the care of social services in Coventry, ranging in age from nine months to ten years old.

Some of them have disabilities, development problems or behavioural problems.

Adoptive parents can be couple or single, working or unemployed, home-owners living in rented accommodation.

They can by with or without their own children, live within 50 miles of Coventry, be of any ethnic origin and of any or no religion.

They have to be in a position to care for children until they reach adulthood or beyond, and be over 21 and in good health.

Mr Hutton said:

"There is a steady rise in the number of adoptions taking place. But we need to keep the momentum going, and the taskforce will help by identifying unnecessary barriers to change and supporting those councils that need help."

A Coventry City Council spokeswoman said that the situation had improved greatly in Coventry this year, but the Government figures were produced over a five year period.

A statement was issued which read:

“We will work with the task force and welcome the advice and help they can offer in order to prepare an action plan to improve our adoption service.

Improvements include:

• the creation of a permanency policy which provides support, security and stability for a child, whether within the birth family, with long-term foster carers or adoptive parents
• the Pathways to Care funding -  money set aside to specifically encourage, support foster and adoptive parents to take additional children. This can be in the form, for example, of helping adopters purchase a larger home to accommodate more children; or funding for extensions to be built on homes.
• the creation of a Post Adoption worker post to provide support to families after adopting
• funding has been secured for two additional posts for the Recruitment Team
• recruitment campaigns

In March 2000, there were 31 children awaiting adoption, compared with 51 at the end of March 1999.