Adoption UK statement on Prime Minister’s adoption announcement

9 Mar 2012

National membership and support charity for adoptive parents Adoption UK has welcomed the Government’s announcement to improve the adoption system, but has also raised some serious concerns.

Adoption UK’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Pearce, made the following statement:

Making it easier for children to be fostered by approved prospective adopters while the courts consider the case for adoption

“The proposals to make it easier for children to be fostered by approved prospective adopters while the courts consider the case for adoption are interesting. There may be a role for such an approach in some situations. However, there are some serious risks attached.

“First, the majority of prospective adopters come from a background of childlessness and few will want to put themselves in a position where there will be no guarantee that the children placed with them will stay with them. And that will be the reality for those prospective adopters who are also foster carers, as the courts will not always decide to grant placement orders for those children. Secondly, there is a legal requirement to promote contact between foster children and their birth families, and courts often set high levels of contact, including daily direct contact, which can sometimes be very distressing for all those involved, including the birth families, children and their current carers. It is unlikely that prospective adopters will want to be part of that, not least because of associated risks to the future security and stability of the placement arising from the likelihood that confidentiality of the placement will not be safe.

“More generally, what is asked of adopters is that they commit 100% to the children placed with them from the word “go”, but this will be very difficult for them to do where they know that the foster placement may not become an adoptive placement. And whatever anyone says, that will be the reality.

“Adoption UK’s big concern here is that if this becomes the norm for adoption, then people won’t want to adopt. It would be preferable to focus on enabling existing foster carers to adopt more easily where this in children’s best interests.

The role of ethnicity in placing a child for adoption

“As a national membership organisation for adoptive parents, Adoption UK supports adoptive families of all shapes and sizes, including many families where transracial adoptive placements have been made, so we know that many adoption agencies already uphold the existing law on considering the role of ethnicity, culture and religion in family finding and matching. It is right that these factors play an important role in family finding, but they should not be the primary consideration where this will delay finding a suitable adoptive family for children in care. We know that unnecessary delay causes further damage to children, when they will already have experienced so much harm due to their early experiences of abuse and neglect. Where transracial adoptions are made, it is vital that adoptive families receive high quality support to address the crucial role that race, ethnicity and culture play in children’s development and identity.

Referrals to the National Adoption Register

“We welcome the proposals to make referrals to the Register mandatory after three months, as this can only help find families for children in care who need adoption.

ends

For further information:

Erika Pennington, Adoption UK – erika@adoptionuk.org.uk or 01295 752960.

Out-of-Office Hours: 07500 968475

Website: http://www.adoptionuk.org/