APPENDIX 9
Memorandum submitted by Barnardo's
I am writing in response to the Select Committee's
press notice dated 11 April to request that Barnardo's be considered
as a potential oral evidence witness to the Committee, on the
Adoption and Children Bill.
As the UK's largest children's charity, we work
with over 47,000 children and young people in their families and
communities. We currently have ten projects across the UK involved
in adoption work. Eight provide placements for children looked
after by local authorities and two provide counselling and support
to the parties to adoption. Children who are referred to us tend
to be older, disabled, in sibling groups or need a racially and
culturally appropriate placement. However, we have in recent years
received an increasing number of referrals of pre-school children.
All our adoption placement projects offer foster care but this
varies from permanent placement only to the full range, from shortbreaks
to permanence. One of our counselling projects also undertakes
Guardian ad Litem and reporting officer duties. In addition to
our own projects, we also provide financial support to various
regional post-adoption services. This includes pump priming a
new service in the Eastern Counties and a satellite of After Adoption
in the North East and providing accommodation for the London Post-Adoption
Centre. We are committed to the provision of high quality adoption
services.
Barnardo's welcomes the Adoption and Children
Bill as a key plank in the Government's programme to modernise
the adoption system for the benefit of children and support many
of the Bill's measures such as:
— achieving consistency between adoption
and the 1989 Children Act, with the child's welfare being paramount
and the application of the welfare checklist;
— the requirement to give consideration
to the child's religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and
linguistic background;
— the duty to public a local authority
plan for the provision of adoption services;
— the new provisions for special guardianship
which could potentially provide a real alternative option for
children for whom adoption will not be appropriate.
However, we are concerned about some specific
areas of the Bill such as the Adoption Support Services (Clauses
3, 4 and 5), the provisions contained in Clause 4 do give rise
to considerable concern, and Access to Information (Clauses 47,
48 and 49). We would wish to concentrate on these areas in presenting
oral evidence to the Committee.
I hope that the Committee will feel able to
consider Barnardo's as a potential witness for this Bill and look
forward to hearing from you soon.
April 2001
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