APPENDIX 3: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
The House of Lords has established a Select Committee
on Adoption Legislation. The terms of reference of the inquiry
ask the Committee to "consider the statute law about adoption,
and to make recommendations". The Committee will be giving
particular thought to those elements of the Adoption and Children
Act 2002 and the Children and Adoption Act 2006 that concern the
adoption process. There may be sections of other acts or regulations
dealing with adoption that the Committee will also wish to look
at. The work of the Committee will be focused upon adoption in
England and Wales. Any draft legislation published whilst the
Committee is undertaking its work will also be considered.
The Committee will explore the following key issues
in detail and would welcome your views on any or all of the following
questions. Please note that questions are not listed here in any
particular order of importance.
Written evidence should arrive no later than 19th
July 2012.
The Committee will be considering adoption legislation
and policy as it applies to all and, as such, will not be investigating
individual cases.
Background
(a) Do we have the right structure for adoption?
(b) Should we be concerned about the falling
number of adoptions? Why are the numbers falling?
Legislation
(a) What impact did the 2002 Act have on the
adoption process?
(b) Have all aspects of the 2002 and 2006 Acts
been implemented appropriately and successfully?
(c) Is further legislation required to improve
any aspect of the adoption system?
(d) Can you as a respondent identify a problem
and tell us if, and if so where, the legislation (including regulations),
needs to change?
Time taken in placing children
(a) Is excessive time taken in placing children?
Do some groups of children take a disproportionate length of time?
(b) What aspects of the adoption process, including
pre-process care proceedings, take most time?
(c) Do the various parts of the system—local
authorities, adoption agencies, courts and others—work effectively
together?
(d) Could the adoption process be speeded up,
whilst ensuring that necessary safeguards are preserved?
(e) How widely used is concurrent planning? What
are its advantages and disadvantages?
(f) What are the reasons for the variations in
time taken to place children by different local authorities?
The number of potential adopters
(a) Are there enough potential adopters coming
forward? Are there shortages in particular ethnic groups?
(b) How do we ensure the best "fit"
for a child, and is trans-racial adoption relevant to this issue?
(c) Why do some potential adopters drop out during
the adoption process?
(d) Have the changes to eligibility introduced
by the 2002 Act impacted the number of potential adopters?
(e) What will be the likely effect of the measures
proposed in the Department for Education's 'Action Plan for Adoption'?
(f) Does the number of agencies inhibit the number
of potential adopters recruited?
(g) Does the recent increase in knowledge about
early child development affect the balance between children's
rights and parental rights?
Court proceedings
(a) Do court proceedings take undue time in the
adoption process?
(b) Would the recommendations of the Family Justice
Review substantially alter the position?
(c) How effective are provisions for the representation
by guardians of children in court proceedings?
(d) How effective have placement orders been
in facilitating the placement and adoption of children compared
with "freeing orders"?
(e) How common is it for care proceedings and
placement order proceedings to be heard together or consecutively?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
(f) How will changes to legal aid impact, if
at all, on adoption proceedings?
Post-adoption support
(a) How, if at all, has the 2002 Act impacted
upon the provision of post-adoption contacts and support?
(b) Are measures needed to enhance post-adoption
financial and other support for (i) adopted children; (ii) adoptive
parents, (iii) birth families?
Inter-country adoption
(a) Have the inter-country adoption safeguards
introduced by the 2002 and 2006 Acts proved successful?
(b) Would you recommend any change to the legislation
to make inter-country adoption simpler?
(c) Are there any special challenges in adopting
children from particular countries or regions?
Access to Information
(a) Has the 2002 Act made it easier for adopted
adults and/or birth families to trace their relatives, should
they wish to do so?
Other permanent placements
(a) What has been the effect of the introduction,
in the 2002 Act, of 'special guardianship'?
(b) Is special guardianship an effective alternative
to adoption, especially for those of school age (ie 5 and older)?
(c) What is the best way to ensure permanent
and consistent placements for children?
(d) Would earlier interventions with difficulties
have an effect on the number of children who need to be adopted
or otherwise permanently separated from their birth family?
Monitoring
(a) Do 'adoption scorecards' provide an appropriate
means for monitoring the performance of local authorities with
regard to adoption?
(b) How robust are current systems for monitoring
the i) number of adoptions made, ii) the number of children awaiting
adoption, and iii) the amount of delay experienced by those awaiting
adoption?
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