CVAA response to final Public Law Working Group report on adoption – November 2024

CVAA and its members are fully committed to the modernisation of adoption, and therefore welcome the publication of the final Public Law Working Group report on adoption, Recommendations for best practice in respect of adoption. We thank Justice Judd for leading such an important and mammoth piece of work and commend all those that contributed to it. The report contains a raft of thoughtful and sensible recommendations to ensure that adoptees are properly supported in how they explore and develop their identities, including having better access to vital information about their personal histories. We welcome these recommendations, many of which strengthen guidance and regulations that are already in place. We also welcome the long overdue attention to other areas of practice, notably access to records and adoptions with an international element, both of which play a significant role in the work of CVAA’s member agencies. We are also pleased that, whilst it does not have the remit to address the legal structure of adoption, the report recognises that focus on this does need to happen.
Whilst the report is comprehensive and representative of the social care’s sector direction of travel, the final report itself compels CVAA to express the same views we have shared before.
It is inarguable that such a seismic shift in thinking and practice – particularly in relation to how adopted children’s relationships are managed – will require significant investment. Voluntary adoption agencies are acutely aware of the potential value of face-to-face contact for adopted children, after proper assessments have been undertaken and with solid support plans in place. Yet they have also seen the harm which can be done to children and the potential for re-traumatisation when these relationships are explored without specialist support which is routinely available and also supports an ongoing review of all plans in place for all affected children and birth families. We are also acutely mindful that the modernisation of adoption is much more than about maintaining relationships, as the core psychology behind the separation and loss involved for all children needing adoption is complex and lifelong.
New and sustained funding is absolutely critical for the sector if the recommendations in this report are to be realised and delivered, otherwise this report will soon become redundant. Funding would make it feasible for the adoption sector to deliver the proposed changes – supporting birth parents for example, reviewing contact plans over time, and thoroughly exploring all types of connection, including digital. Investment would also make possible the extensive training needed for all professionals involved in adoption, from social workers to judges and lawyers.
It is important to emphasise that investment would also reach far beyond the small numbers of children adopted each year. This would be an investment in all care-experienced children, in their futures as adults, and society as a whole. It is how we will get to a future of care-experienced adult communities who feel secure in who they are, valued and capable, and live fulfilling lives defined by positive relationships. VAAs have this aspiration for every child they work with and are desperate to improve the system for them, so are calling for further financial weight behind this report so that its ambition can be realised.
Further information
CVAA’s response to the draft PLWG report published in December 2023 is available here.
The response from VAA Family Futures to the report is available here.
CVAA’s vision for a new a new network and hub (‘My People’) to support adopted children’s relationships is available here.
Published 7th November 2024