Thousands of vulnerable adopted children are failing to get the support they need, a charity has warned today.

The Adoption Barometer, published by Adoption UK, reveals failures in policy and practice mean that problems often build into a crisis.

The survey found that despite one in four adopted children being affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, more than half of families (55%) waited two years or more for a diagnosis.

The majority of families (78%) also felt healthcare professionals lacked the basic knowledge about the condition.

Almost half (48%) of families with older children report severe challenges, such as being drawn into criminally exploitative behaviour.

Report author, Becky Brooks, said: ‘It is morally and economically imperative that adoptive families are given the right support from day one. Yet 68% of new adoptive families who responded to the survey had no support plan in place.

’The cost to the child, the wider family and society when an adoptive family falls apart, is unacceptable.’