How Is Parental Consent Given For Adoption?
Trainee Solicitor Michael Radze-Constable discusses “How Is Parental Consent Given For Adoption?” in his latest blog…
There is a stereotypical image of adoption; it only applies to children who are the victim of cruel, neglectful, or irresponsible parents. But is this stereotype justified? Absolutely not. Not every child is adopted following care proceedings or a reckless series of acts by an incapable parent.
A pregnant Mother may recognise before giving birth that she does not have the skills, capabilities, or resources to adequately care for her child. She may be young, career driven, or simply realise that her family and social circumstances will not allow the situation to work. Consequently, she may decide to have her child removed, not just from her care, but her life altogether, and placed in an adoptive placement. This article will explore how the Mother can provide her parental consent for this to happen.
Giving Consent For Adoption
Placing your child up for adoption is an emotive, challenging and life changing decision. When powerful emotions are at play, they can easily cloud judgement. In recognition of this, there are safeguards to ensure the Mother makes an informed decision. The Mother must give consent via two different methods:
- Consent for the child to be placed for adoption (Section 19 Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002))
- Consent for the child to be adopted (Section 20 Adoption and Children Act 2002)
Both methods of consent can only be granted if the child is six weeks or older (Section 53 ACA 2002). If the Mother is adamant from the outset that she wishes to place her baby for adoption, she can give consent immediately, but this consent must be repeated after the baby turns 6 weeks old.
Who Has To Give Consent?
Consent is also required for every person with Parental Responsibility. If the Mother is married to the Father, the parents will have joint Parental Responsibility. If unmarried, only the Mother has Parental Responsibility, but the Father can acquire it if he:
- Is registered as the Father on the child’s birth certificate with the consent of the Mother (applies after 1st December 2003)
- Enters into a Parental Responsibility agreement with the Mother
- Applies to the court for a Parental Responsibility order
- Is appointed a guardian either by the Mother, or by the court (however, in these circumstances he will only assume parental responsibility on the Mother’s death)
- Obtains a child arrangement order from the court
- Marries the Mother
What If The Mother Is A Child?
A child Mother will likely have even greater concerns and fears about not being able to adequately raise their baby. She can give valid consent for her baby to be placed for adoption and subsequently adopted provided she has both competence and capacity. The test for this comes from the “Gillick Competency” principles which arose from Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Health Authority [1985]. The child Mother must:
- Understand both the nature and impact of the decision and the method of implementing the decision
- Understand the impact of not making the decision
- Retain the information long enough for the decision-making process to occur
- Be of adequate intelligence and maturity to assess the information and make a decision
- Be capable of communicating the final decision
The Emotional And Life-Changing Nature Of The Decision
The child Mother must also be capable of understanding the more emotional and life-changing nature of the decision:
- Her child will be placed with a different family for the remainder of its life and she will likely not be a part of choosing that family
- The child will legally no longer be her child, but instead that of the new legal parents
- Decisions regarding who the child lives with and sees will be made by the new legal parents
- She will not have a right to see the child. Direct contact will be improbable and indirect contact will be very limited
- As the child grows older, they may try to find her. Future contact will only take place if the child wants it
- Adoption has 2 states. Being placed with the new family for adoption, and then the formal adoption itself
- She has limited time for a change of heart and her right to change her mind once the child is placed is limited. No rights at all exist for her to change her mind once the adoption order is made
- She may seek legal advice before arriving at her decision
Every step possible must be taken to ensure the Mother understands what she is agreeing to. This will include information the Mother can consider in light of her age and understanding, simple language and visual aids. A similar approach should also be followed for vulnerable adult Mothers.
In Conclusion…
In conclusion, not all children are adopted due to Local Authority insistence. There may be many a good reason as to why a Mother voluntarily chooses to place her child up for adoption, but the law provides safeguards to ensure that the decision is a rigorous, calculated and methodical one.
How Can We Help?
If you have any questions regarding the Adoption, or any other family law queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach me on 01332 364436 or via email at m.radze-constable@timms-law.com. Alternatively, you can visit the family law page of our website here.
February 2022