Adopted children should have more opportunity to keep in touch with birth families unless it is unsafe: Public Law Working Group
A report by the Public Law Working Group (PLWG) has highlighted the need for “wholesale reform” to the adoption process, including a change in face to face contact between adopted children and birth families, and the development of a national strategy for adoption by consent.
The working group, established by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, observed that the model of adoption has adapted and changed over the years, and that “more needs to be done” to make it effective now, including making use of digital tools for both training, information and contact.
On the issue of contact, the report described the current system, whereby face-to-face contact is the exception rather than the rule, as “outdated”.
It recommended a “sea change” in the approach to the question of face-to-face contact between the adopted child and the birth family, and noted that the full range of contact options (including digital options) should be “actively considered” by professionals and the court during care and placement proceedings, rather than an assumption that contact will be via letterbox only.
The report recommended that birth parents should be signposted to independent support, which can provide support workers to enable birth parents to understand how they can continue to be involved in their child’s life through different types of contact, as soon as adoption is identified as a possible outcome.
Other key recommendations included:
- There should be a national protocol for a standard procedure for access to records applications.
- In order to simplify the extremely complex system of adoptions with an international element, the statutory framework should be rewritten so that it is contained in one single Act of Parliament. In the meantime, there is an urgent need for written guidance.
- A national strategy for adoption by consent cases needs to be developed, including training for all, better access to legal advice for parent(s) before the birth, and that local authorities bring proceedings straight away, and that they are listed urgently.
Chair of the Public Law Working Group sub-group, Mrs Justice Judd, said: “This report highlights the need for significant change so that adopted children have more opportunity to keep in touch with their birth families unless it is not safe, and better access to their records. It also calls for changes to process and clearer guidance for international adoptions, and recognises the lasting effect of adoption orders on birth and adoptive families.”
Welcoming the recommendations, President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said: “The recommendations concerning contact with a child’s birth family are especially important, but the particular arrangements in each case must be determined by the needs of the individual child.”
Also welcoming the report, Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group, said: “The current position is archaic. Even where a child can’t live within their family, it doesn’t mean that their relatives don’t care about them. The permanent separation between adopted children and their birth family, often leaves children with unanswered questions and a sense of loss, that can last a lifetime.
“All too often we hear from birth parents who are told to keep the annual letterbox contact letters that they are permitted to send to their children ‘factual and light’, and that they cannot even tell the children that they love them.
“The Public Law Working Group report makes clear that when determining whether a child should be placed for adoption, the court should prioritise examining the possible benefits of the child having a continuing relationships with their birth parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents or other family members – where it is safe to do so. This is a hugely important step in modernising adoption processes in England and Wales."
Lottie Winson
