Adoption and Children Act 2002

خلاصہ

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 comprehensively reformed the law of adoption in England and Wales, replacing the Adoption Act 1976 which had remained largely unchanged since its enactment. The Act followed the government's white paper Adoption: A New Approach (2000) and was designed to increase the use of adoption for looked-after children in care. Its central reform was to align adoption law with the paramountcy principle in the Children Act 1989: section 1 of the 2002 Act provides that, in decisions about adoption, the child's welfare throughout his or her life is the paramount consideration. The Act updated the test for dispensing with parental consent under section 52: consent can be dispensed with where the welfare of the child requires it, replacing the previous grounds which included unreasonable withholding. The Act permitted adoption by unmarried couples (including same-sex couples) for the first time. It introduced placement orders as the mechanism by which courts authorise local authorities to place children for adoption, replacing freeing orders. Section 115 introduced special guardianship orders (inserting ss.14A–14G into the Children Act 1989) as a less permanent legal status than adoption, designed for children for whom a permanent family placement was needed but adoption was not appropriate — particularly older children and those with significant ties to their birth families. The Act also created adoption support services and the right to request an assessment of adoption support needs.

اہم نکات

• Welfare principle (s.1) — in coming to a decision relating to the adoption of a child, the paramount consideration of the court or adoption agency must be the child's welfare throughout his life; a broader consideration than the Children Act 1989 which refers to welfare during childhood
• Welfare checklist (s.1(4)) — the court must have regard to the child's ascertainable wishes and feelings, the child's particular needs, the likely effect on the child of having ceased to be a member of their birth family, the child's age, sex, background, and any relevant characteristics, any harm the child has suffered or is likely to suffer, and the relationship the child has with relatives and others
• Consent (s.52) — an adoption order or placement order cannot be made without the consent of each parent or guardian, or without the consent being dispensed with; consent is dispensed with where the parent or guardian cannot be found, is incapable of giving consent, or the welfare of the child requires it
• Placement orders (ss.21-29) — a court may make a placement order authorising a local authority to place a child for adoption with any prospective adopters it chooses; a placement order can only be made if the child is subject to a care order, or the court is satisfied that the threshold conditions in CA 1989 s.31(2) are met; placement orders replaced freeing orders
• Who may adopt (ss.49-51) — an adoption order may be made in favour of one person (sole applicant) or in favour of a couple; 'couple' includes a married couple, civil partners, or two people living as partners in an enduring family relationship; this extended adoption to cohabiting and same-sex couples
• Special guardianship orders (s.115; CA 1989 ss.14A-14G) — an order appointing one or more individuals as the child's special guardian; the special guardian has parental responsibility, may exercise it to the exclusion of any other person, but the child retains their legal status as a member of the birth family and is not adopted; designed for older children and those with strong birth family ties
• Adoption support services (ss.2-4) — adoption agencies must provide adoption support services including financial support, groups, advice, and therapeutic services; children and adoptive parents have the right to request an assessment of their adoption support needs
• Register (s.125) — the Secretary of State must establish and maintain an Adoption and Special Guardianship Register (operated by Coram) to suggest matches between children waiting to be adopted and approved prospective adopters

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