ADOPTED children in the county are in good hands, according to a new report.

Worcestershire County Council's Adoption Service is of a good standard, with excellent monitoring of families and dedicated staff.

But they did come in for criticism in the report, by the Commission for Social Care, for not telling parents the detailed life history of the often-troubled children they were taking under their wing.

The report highlighted the high standard of staff training and ability to match the needs of youngsters and their adoptive parents.

These parents praised the commitment of social workers.

One told inspectors: "We felt the preparation process was very thorough, staff took the time to ensure issues were well covered."

Service manager for Looked After Children Jean Pickering said: "We're delighted with the report. It is testament to the hard work of county council staff and our adopters.

"Children deserve the very best start in life and our job is to ensure every child has that opportunity. Some have to overcome more challenges than others to achieve this, and the Adoption Service plays a part in giving them a boost up life's ladder."

According to inspectors, there are excellent procedures and guidance for permanence planning and good recruitment strategies.

But the report highlighted two areas of concern, following an inspection at the turn of the year.

It said: "Adopters spoken to said the children that were placed with them had very little life story information with them."

This follows a BBC 1 programme in June called Adoption Hell, where Worcester couple Andrew and Helen Hale, of Battenhall, criticised social services for not warning them about the disturbed backgrounds of their adoptive sons, Andrew and Jason.

The council's cabinet has been asked to approve an action plan for the service to strengthen areas identified for improvement when it meets today.

Included in the plan are work on evidence of life stories and the need to provide additional information for the personnel files of adoption panel members.

The county council's Fostering Service has also been assessed and an action plan drawn up.

However, most of the points are already being addressed as the service has recently undergone improvements.