Adoption Legislation
The law which governs Adoption in Britain is the Adoption and
Children Act 2002. As with other legislation it took some while
before it was completely implemented and it was only at the
beginning of 2006 that all parts of the law came into effect.
Although it applies to the whole of the UK the way in which some of
the detail is interpreted in Wales comes within the responsibility
of the Welsh Assembly Government.
Principles
An underlying principle of this law is that the welfare of the
child being considered for must be paramount – in other words at
each stage of the process what is best for the child must come
before anything else. This can sometimes conflict with what
adopters think they have to offer.
Different Types of Adopters
The new law recognises the changes there have been in society as
a whole and attitudes to different types of long term
relationship.
- unmarried couples can now apply jointly to adopt a child
- same sex couples can now apply jointly to adopt a child
Post Adoption Support
The law now recognises that everybody affected by adoption –
children, adopters and birth family members may need support at
different times throughout their lives. Adoption Agencies have a
duty to consider requests for Post-Adoption support, to assess what
is needed and if they are in a position to meet that need.
The Work of Adoption Agencies
The law lays down regulations to make sure that all Adoption
Agencies will provide an equivalent service to children, adopters
and birth families. This includes timescales to minimise the delay
so that children do not remain in Care for longer than necessary
and that prospective adopters are assessed within a reasonable
time, without compromising on thoroughness. It also creates a
system for decisions about adopters to be reconsidered by an
independent body.
New Orders
The new law creates a number of new types of legal order. These
include something called a Special Guardianship Order which allows
children to have a permanent home with people who are not their
parents, but without taking away the birth parents parental
responsibility as adoption does. It also means that a child cannot
go to live with adopters, before they are adopted, until a court
makes an Order to allow this.
Intercountry Adoption
The new law tightens up the arrangements for people wanting to
adopt a child from another country so that these children are
protected in the same way as British children.
NATIONAL ADOPTION REGISTER
There is now a national database of children waiting to be
adopted and adopters available to adopt them. This is to give every
child the best chance of finding the right family for them.
BAAF legislation
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