Annex
GENERAL COMMENTS FROM THE CHILDREN TASK GROUP
OF THE LGA HEALTH AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE
The Children Task Group have considered and
discussed the Adoption Bill over two meetings. We heard from BAAF
and other agencies and local authority Social Services representatives
and reached the following conclusions.
WE WERE
IN BROAD
AGREEMENT WITH
THE AIMS
OF THE
BILL
We wanted to see more children adopted and for
the process to be speeded up. We think a National Register a good
idea but also believe there is a place for Regional Consortia
which would be the first choice in order to keep children local,
if possible.
We certainly felt Court procedures could be,
and should be, speeded up. Everyone was frustrated by how long
it takes at the moment and welcome the intention of the Bill to
speed things up.
Social Services representatives felt that perhaps
the most important thing in order to make adoption work was post-adoption
support, both emotional and financial. Also the necessity for
practical help in linking health, housing and educational issues
was important and, therefore, we welcomed the new powers for local
authorities.
We all felt permanence to be the most desirable
outcome for young people, whether long term fostering, kinship
care, or adoption. We felt that extended families and friends
would take on more children if support were available. We think
the key to placing children most suitably—for example with
regard to religion and minority ethnic cultures—was more
publicity and more support, both pre- and post-adoption. Knowledge
of, and contact if desired, with birth parents should be possible
at whatever stage a child wishes. Severance from natural parents,
for whatever reason, is a traumatic experience and children need
help to deal with their feelings. With all the best intentions,
deep emotional damage can be done by cutting children off from
their roots. Even very young children will have already bonded
with their parents, and older children could suffer from feelings
of loss on being removed from a familiar environment, however
inadequate, and from their friends and social contacts.
RESERVATIONS
We did not believe that the Bill contained a
real commitment to ensure that children would be fully consulted
and their wishes taken into primary consideration. This is a serious
issue we feel. We also have concerns about the targets which we
believe could lead to practitioners feeling pressured to arrange
an adoption when the best outcome could be more family support.
Finally, we think that without proper funding
the desired result will not be achieved since Social Services
Departments are already under severe pressure to take on many
new initiatives without enough resources to fulfil their core
duties and responsibilities.
April 2001
| 
