More Child Info for Prospective Adopters

Since November 2017, approved adopters have been able to inspect the adoption register in their quest for a match: a child whom they would like to adopt and obtain certain information(seehttp://www.breakinglaw.co.uk/2017/10/matching-children-for-adoption.html ) although nothing which would at that stage enable them to identify the child.  

The available information is being widened as from 4 October 2018 * and the additional information will comprise the child's first name, their health history and that of their family where available and geographical considerations. 

* The law is changed by the Adoption and Children Act Register Search and Inspection) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 SI2018/993.

Matching Children For Adoption

'Adopter-led matching' they call it and it involves would be adopters themselves identifying children who they might like to adopt. And it's coming in next week on 2 November 2017.

Successfully matching children up for adoption with prospective adopters and doing so more speedily should result from the new Adoption and Children Act Register (Search and Inspection) Regulations 2017 SI 2017/97. The database of  children up for adoption and prospective adopters who have been approved  will be accessible to those prospective adopters as to certain prescribed information – nothing sufficient to identify -  for ‘adopter-led matching’ which will often lead to consideration of children who would not have been reckoned through traditional matching techniques.  It will not be open to the prospective adopters to approach any child or their birth family and they will continue to need to work closely with the staff who run the database , their own social worker and subsequently the child' social worker, to follow up any links generated by their database search.