Appendix 8: Summary of the birth parents engagement event
On Monday 6 June we held an engagement event with parents whose children had been placed for adoption, organised by the Select Committees Engagement Team. Ten parents took part, supported by staff from Barnardo’s, PAC-UK, Pause and Re:Frame. The Chair, Lord Bach, Baroness Bertin, Baroness Blower, Lord Brownlow, Lord Cruddas, Baroness Massey, Lord Mawson, Baroness Prashar, Lord Storey and Baroness Wyld were in attendance.
Participants were mostly critical of social workers, suggesting that they were insufficiently empathetic. There was a perception that social workers were working ‘against’ birth parents and that it would be preferable also to have independent social workers to support birth parents. One added that social services had moved their child between seven foster placements in four and a half months.
Conversely, views on solicitors and barristers were largely very positive. The group—who had almost all received legal aid, prior to the reforms of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act which came into effect in April 2013–said that legal professionals had been the only people explaining things to them. Several said that they could not imagine going through the process without legal aid.
The legal process was generally felt to be confusing and especially difficult for those who are less educated or have learning difficulties. One lamented that no one had checked their comprehension of the documents they were given. Some felt that the process was too quick, leaving little time to understand what was happening or find a solicitor.
Post-adoption, many saw the contact system as inadequate and argued that reforming it should be the top priority in this area. Several reported not receiving the letters they had been promised—such as receiving one every two or three years rather than every year—and felt that it was a lottery whether adoptive parents complied. Experiences ranged from occasional letters to regular in-person contact. There was a consensus that letterbox contact should be replaced by digital communication, including other media such as photographs and voice recordings. Participants further lamented that contact is limited to birth parents, excluding other family members such as siblings and grandparents.
More broadly, there was seen to be a lack of support (or signposting to it)–both for parents and other family members—during proceedings and post-adoption. In particular, many participants noted that their mental health had suffered and that the lack of support for this hindered them both throughout the adoption process and in adjusting to life without their child. Participants spoke favourably of the help they had received from charities, including counselling, mentoring and training. However, they felt that they were lucky to have found these charities, whereas others might remain struggling on their own.