Can I See My Child After They’ve Been Adopted?

When parents are no longer able to look after their children one of the options the court has to consider is whether adoption is right for child.

Adoption should only ever be the last resort. Often parents want to know if they can see their children after the adoption has taken place but what is the view of the court?

What the Court Says

When the court considers whether an adoption order should be made it must also consider whether there should be arrangements made allowing any person contact with the child. Adoption orders in relation to contact are intended to be permanent and final.  Typically contact tends to be indirect by letterbox . This can be one way or two way at a usual frequency of once or twice per year. But what about direct contact (sometimes called face to face contact)?

Section 9 of the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced two new sections which came into force on 22 April 2014.   A Section 51A order can provide for contact or prevent contact with certain people.  Section 51A (3)(a)-(e) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 sets out the categories of people who are allowed to be named in an order to have contact. This includes any blood relatives or relatives through marriage or civil partnership.  Any persons seeking an order for post-adoption contact must ask the court for permission to make their application.

In deciding whether permission should be given, the court must consider if that contact would disrupt the child’s new life; how the person making the application is connected or related to the child. The court may also hear on behalf of the child and the adoptive parents as to their views.

There has been recent substantial research which strongly suggests that post-adoption contact can help in supporting an adoptive placement.

What does this research mean for people involved in court proceedings?

1. It is important for professionals who are involved in the court process to be aware of the research and to then appropriately analyse the information during the course of any court hearing.
2. To continue to raise issues relating to post-adoption contact through care and placement proceedings and adoption proceedings.
3. Encourage prospective adoptive parents and adoption social workers to familiarise themselves with the developing research showing the benefits of post-adoption contact and how changes can be made on the ground. For prospective adopters this should involve training around post-adoption contact.
4. Whether there should be more applications for contact orders alongside placement orders so that the issue of post-adoption contact can be identified and discussed with potential adopters at an early stage in the process.

Post adoption contact is not a simple issue and needs lot of thought and consideration but moving forward it is an issue and should be raised and considered carefully on a case by case basis.

Dee Khunkhuna
November 2019