Manchester Adoption Society faces closure
Article published: Monday, February 15th 2010
Thousands of children could be going into care following the closure of a charity.
Manchester Adoption Society has been open for nearly 50 years but will be shutting its doors for the final time on the 28 February.
A celebrity campaign featuring Watchdog host and adoptee Nicky Campbell and some local MPs had been launched to try and save the organisation.
Based in Prestwich the agency has helped over 2,000 children find a decent home and Rob Finney, of the charity, feels there are a lot of positives to take from the work achieved.
He said: “We would like to thank everybody who has supported us over the years, and in our current difficult times. The messages of good will and thanks have enabled us to celebrate the work done, the children placed and the families made whole, rather than be sad.”
Voluntary adoption agencies like MAS have been finding it difficult to compete against local authorities as shown in government commissioned research, by staff at Bristol and Loughborough Universities.
The study found that fees for voluntary organisations were £7,000 higher than for government funded ones.
Throughout England 4,000 children are currently looking to be adopted and every case offers a unique challenge.
As the only volunteer run agency in the north of England the loss of MAS will be very big, considering its role in placing difficult to house children with families.
These organisations play a greater role in housing troubled kids than local authorities and the support network will be greatly missed.
Lynn Santha, who has adopted through MAS said: “The help and support provided by this agency is next to none and I am not sure what we will do without them. My daughter is also extremely distressed about this. We still have contact with my daughter’s birth mother nine years on. Should MAS close its doors I’m not sure this arrangement will be possible.”
Jason Travis, of the Save Manchester Adoption Society campaign said: “If they and others like them close hundreds of children will take longer to be adopted or may in some cases not be adopted at all, ending up in long-term care which, as research suggests, is normally extremely damaging.”
There will be a MAS Celebration Day on 3 March for anyone who has been part of the organisation over the past 45 years. For more information go to www.manchesteradoption.com.
Tom Evans
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