The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane recently asked a senior High Court Judge to undertake a review of adoption as part of wider review to better address the needs of children and their families. That report is now available and it has some very interesting things to say about the issue of contact between adopted children and birth parents.
Contact after adoption
For a number of years, the seemingly accepted wisdom was that direct contact should not take place post adoption. It was seen as safer for children and their adoptive families. The report turns that approach on its head, pulling on more recent research demonstrating that closed adoptions could have significant disadvantages. Since 2002 the Court must consider contact before making an adoption order and later changes to legislation enable a court to order post adoption contact. The report suggests that where it is safe for children to do so, they should have a greater opportunity to keep in touch with their birth family and be able to have better access to records.
The future for adoption
Any changes are going to take time to implement and introduce – the report was some 4 years in the making but it does mark a different direction of travel as the family court seeks to make positive changes in light of developing research.
If you are thinking of adopting or wish to seek advice on adoption generally it is important to seek expert legal advice. Our team of specialist children lawyers are able to help and assist you with clear, pragmatic expert advice to help you make the best decision for you.