The adoption and Children Act 2002 embodies the law on adoption and was designed to support and encourage people to come forward to adopt. The Act places a duty on the Local Authority to make arrangements for the provision of adoption support services to promote adoption as a means of providing children with stability for the rest of their minority.
Adoption Orders & Contact Orders
When adoption orders are made, the issue of ongoing contact with the birth family and other siblings has to be addressed. The adopters are rarely placed in a position where an order for contact is imposed even though the intention at the time was to make sure that contact was properly addressed. The court can impose a contact order on making an adoption order, even if no one applied for it but it is considered to be in the best interests of the child.
So how does this fit with the letter box contact which usually take place annually leading to a sparking of interest in an adopted child and leading to a search on the internet via social media for their birth family?
Social Media, Adoption & Post Adoption Contact - Radio 4 Case Study
This morning on Radio 4, there was a case study of adoptive parents who no longer have their children living with them. This is because the elder child of the two adopted children searched the internet for his birth family, he subsequently rejected the adoptive parents and he and his brother no longer live with them. The adoptive parents felt unsupported and searched for some support for the family when the children started to show curiosity about their birth family. In their case, the elder of the two children started meeting members of his birth family secretly and there was no management of the contact between him and his birth family.
The presenter quoted data to the effect that one quarter of adoptive placement break downs can be attributed to adopted children accessing social media and searching for their families. How many families does this affect? It is hard to find the data. We do know that 3,440 were adopted in the year ending 31st March 2020. (Corambaaf.org.uk)
The year to the end of March 2020 showed 3880 children had an adoption best interests’ decision and 2440 children had a placement order made and were awaiting adoptive families. This means that 6320 children were awaiting an adoptive family at the end of March last year.
The Damaging Effect Of Press Coverage
When this type of case with adoptive placement breakdown is covered in the press, it must have an impact on the potential adoption of children waiting to be placed. Potential adopters may be hesitant in progressing with adoption listening to the tragic story highlighted this morning.
The issue of how adolescent children exploring the internet and social media for information about their birth families should be better supported and understood. It is natural for an adopted child to be curious about their birth family and reasons behind being placed for adoption. When their curiosity is ignited of course they will turn to social media to find more out.
The adoptive parents and children need impartial support when this kind of situation arises. Some Local Authorities do provide good support networks but this wasn't the experience of the adoptive parents on Radio 4 this morning. Support should be readily available from a central resource with experience in this very sensitive situation.
The full story can be found on the BBC website: Adoption: 'Our sons' birth family turned them against us' - BBC News
