Adoption and Children Act 2002 (UK)

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If the applicant is not married to/in a civil partnership with the child’s parent, they will have to demonstrate that they are living together in a lasting relationship. No Blanket BanIn the past some adoption agencies had a policy that would ban certain groups of people from adopting children.

To provide that an unmarried father can acquire parental responsibility for his natural child where he and the child's mother register the birth of their child together. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 representsed the most radical overhaul of adoption law for 26 years, replacing the outdated Adoption Act 1976 and modernising the entire legal framework for domestic and intercountry adoption. Adoption can include ongoing contact between the birth parents and the adoptive family, either directly (face to face, by phone) or indirectly (via a confidential letterbox).Hayes and Hayes note that the welfare checklist under s1(4) of the Act already considers a wide range of characteristics for the child and they conclude that ‘undue emphasis on race, culture, religion, and language has tended to permeate all aspects of the adoption process’ and the repeal ‘represents a challenge to orthodox social work thinking’.

It is also intended that this independent review mechanism will also be used to review decisions made by adoption agencies concerning the disclosure of protected information held by the agency, where the Agency has a discretion under the Act as to whether to disclose such information. If a local authority foster carer has a looked-after child placed with them by a local authority or an independent fostering agency, and the local authority responsible for the child supports the adoption plan, the local authority responsible for the child should be willing to assess and approve the foster carer as an adopter. There are procedures for responding to suspicion or evidence of abuse and neglect which are in line with Kent and Medway Safeguarding Procedures to ensure the safety and protection of service users. For the first time unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, could apply for joint adoption in England and Wales. Under Section 98 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (England and Wales), birth relatives of an adopted adults, and adopted people themselves, have the legal right to ask a local authority, voluntary adoption agency or adoption support agency that has registered as an intermediary agency to provide them with intermediary services so that their adopted relatives or birth relatives know of their wish for communication and contact.Adoption and Children Act 2002 (UK) The Law Library presents the official text of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (UK). Significant harm is defined in as a situation where a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, a degree of physical, sexual and / or emotional harm (through abuse or neglect) which is so harmful that there needs to be compulsory intervention by child protection agencies into the life of the child and their family.

Record my learning and reflection on a regular basis and in accordance with Social Work England's guidance on continuing professional development. Trials are provided to all LexisNexis products and content, excluding Practice Compliance, Practice Management and Risk and Compliance, subscription packages are tailored to your specific needs. Can an Adoption Agency's Decision not to Place a Child for Adoption be Challenged by the Applicants?Special GuardianshipIn the past children looking for a new home would have been placed with adoptive parents, offered foster parents, or would live with existing family. An Act to restate and amend the law relating to adoption; to make further amendments of the law relating to children; to amend section 93 of the Local Government Act 2000 and for connected purposes. The first involved a ‘mild preference’ for ethnic matching and the second allowed for an ‘insistence upon the necessity of ethnic matching’ which they argue could be at the expense of the child’s welfare. The Special Guardian then acquires parental responsibility for the child and can usually exercise parental responsibility to the exclusion of any other person with parental responsibility, (apart from another Special Guardian).