Suchergebnisse

The Adoption and Children Act 2002, due to come fully into force on 30 December 2005, effects a long-needed and radical reform of adoption law. The Act has had a very lengthy gestation and is widely regarded as being long overdue. After setting the reforms in a general historical and policy context, Caroline Ball examines, critically, the main provisions of the Act.

ABSTRACT The process of the reform of current adoption law in England and Wales to better meet the needs of adoption practice has been a lengthy one. The extent to which the regulatory framework set out in the Adoption Act 1976 reflects an exclusive model of adoption no longer suited to current practice is well recognized. In this paper the reforms (about to be) enacted in the Adoption and Children Act 2002 are critically considered in the light of the identified requirements of a regulatory system supportive of an inclusive model better suited to the changed nature of adoption. Key themes running through the requirements are explored in the context of the reforms, and the extent to which the paramountcy of the welfare of the child will be underpinned by respect and support for the needs and rights of all parties to the so‐called adoption triangle. Whilst the new legislation is specific to England and Wales, the issues discussed are relevant not only in other common law jurisdictions but throughout the developed world.

The Government published its proposals for the partial reform of adoption law in the White Paper, Adoption: A new approach in December 2000. In this article Caroline Ball provides a critique of the proposals in the context of the needs of the adoptive population at the beginning of the 21st Century and the wide-ranging though as yet unrealised reform process of the past decade. The article acknowledges the extent to which the Government's proposals recognise and partially address identified problems in childcare and court procedures for children in the public care who cannot return to their birth families and for whom adoption is the preferred outcome. It also identifies the extent to which the proposals are fundamentally flawed by significant omissions in regard to the identification of problems and the consequential range of necessary reforms.

This article reflects selectively on the development of the legal regulation of child care practice in England and Wales since the Children Act 1948. Two main themes are identified: the burgeoning burden of the statutory responsibilities of local authorities throughout the period, and the controls more recently imposed on the discretionary exercise of statutory powers. The impact of the latter on particular areas of practice is discussed within the context of the growing influence of international treaty obligations, the concept of children's rights, and the outcomes of research on the legal framework of child care practice.

March 1996 saw the long-awaited publication of the British Government's Draft Adoption Bill, broadly welcomed here by Caroline Ball. As she makes clear when outlining the historical context, there has been an urgent need for a radical review of adoption law for some time. However, a number of provisions in the Draft Bill may require amendment. Among the areas Ball suggests for revision are: aspects of the welfare principles; the criteria for dispensing with parental consent; orders for step-parents; and the use of residence orders as an alternative to adoption. The omission of any reference to the consideration of children's race and culture also comes under scrutiny. She concludes that only when such issues have been satisfactorily resolved can the Bill be truly celebrated as an important step toward meeting the diverse range of needs of children affected by adoption.