Wholesale reform to adoption process is needed, says PLWG
The Public Law Working Group has called for wholesale reform of the adoption process in a new report evaluating adoption in England and Wales. The report, developed with contributions from social workers, academics, legal professionals and adoption agencies, aims to bring the adoption process in line with modern approaches to better meet the needs of children, adoptive families, and birth parents.
The report includes themes such as enhancing contact arrangements with birth families, simplifying international adoption, improving access to adoption records, and streamlining the legal process for adoption. The changes called for include the importance of allowing those who have been adopted greater access to their records and proposes a national protocol to manage adoption cases consistently and efficiently. The report also highlights the need for early and sustained support for birth parents.
President of the Family Division of England and Wales, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said: “I welcome all of the report’s recommendations and would like to thank all those who contributed to its development either by membership of the group or by responding to the consultation.”
Parklane Plowden are a highly regarded set for public children matters and our barristers are regularly instructed in the most complex of adoption cases. Our team will be producing articles and training on the PLWG recommendations in the coming weeks.
