A new regional adoption agency has been set up to help find families for children who are waiting to find their “forever home”.

Adopt East will work across local authorities in the East of England including Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk. Adoptionplus, Barnardo’s and Adoption UK are also part of the partnership.

The Adopt East alliance will aim to deliver the highest quality adoption service to children and families throughout the region by bringing together the expertise and skills of all its partners.

The scale of the organisation means that adopters will have access to a larger number of children waiting for adoption and this will help partners to match children with the right family for them, at the earliest opportunity.

Sarah Johnson, executive head of Adopt East said: “We are excited to launch the Adopt East alliance in line with Department for Education guidance.

“We are doing this as there are a large number of children where it is increasingly difficult to find loving homes for.

“By working together, we will be able to recruit a larger and more diverse collection of adopters going forward.

“We have a wealth of expertise across the eastern region and bringing this together will enable us to match more children with their families.”

The adoption partnership aims to offer a wealth of specialist skills at all stages of the adoption journey and the alliance allows them to bring this together to provide a strong central support for all families going through the adoption process.

The organisation say they are committed to providing good quality adoption support services to support all families with their adoption journey.

Mary Evans cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills, said: “In Suffolk we have been working hard to find loving and supportive families for children waiting for adoption.

“These children have not always had the best start in life and really do deserve to find their forever homes. The adoption process can seem daunting for families, but SCC have a wealth of experience and are there to support families every step of the way.

“Adopt East is great news for Suffolk as it will mean we can draw on expertise and skills from across the whole region to help us to find the right families for our children.”