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Ethnicity should not be a barrier to adoption, says Junior Children's Minister

Summary: Prospective parents should not be stopped from adopting children solely on racial or cultural grounds, junior children's minister Tim Loughton has said.

In an announcement to coincide with National Adoption Week Loughton is asking local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies to relax the emphasis on finding the "perfect match" for children, saying ethnicity should not be a barrier to adoption.

The most recent statistics for 2009/10 show that the number of children placed for adoption fell by 15 per cent and that more children are waiting longer to be adopted.

Loughton said: "I know that matching children for adoption is a complex and sensitive process, but in some cases there is too great an emphasis on finding the perfect match. Ethnicity should not be a barrier to adoption if there are loving, stable and secure families ready and waiting to adopt children."

He said that while the government was aware that a child tends to do better if they are adopted by a family that shares their ethnic and cultural heritage, it is better for a child to be adopted by a loving family than left waiting.

"A drop of 15 per cent in the number of children being placed for adoption this year is unacceptable. I hear about too many cases where prospective adopters are turned away because they don’t meet the local profile, yet other local authorities have a shortage of suitable adopters," he added. "It can’t be right that around 200 families, already approved by voluntary adoption agencies, are still waiting to adopt some of the most difficult-to-place children."

To help break down barriers and reduce delay in the system, the government has set up an advisory group on adoption to provide advice on a range of practical proposals, including making better use of the adoption register.

"Local authorities should be making more, and better, use of voluntary adoption agencies and the families waiting to adopt children," Loughton added. "I want local authorities to focus on what is in the best interests of the child and look beyond what services they alone can offer."

But the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has labelled Loughton’s comments as "ill-thought out".

"What is being over-looked is the evidence that while some transracial adoptions work, many have had a profoundly negative impact on children’s development and identity formation," said Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at BASW.

"While it’s essential that a prospective parent can provide love and a secure base, these are not the only factors needing consideration, a parent also needs to provide a sense of belonging that is key to a child’s identity, self esteem and development and will affect how they mature into adults.

"It’s a fact that we don’t have enough adopters from diverse communities and we need to look at this and make the system more inclusive. We should also be looking at why there is an over representation of black children in the care system in the first place and addressing issues of inequality and discrimination to prevent this."

The government will be issuing updated statutory adoption guidance, including matching for black and minority ethnic and mixed ethnicity children.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering is also developing guidance on promoting a child’s ethnic identity in adoption and balancing this against unnecessary delay.

Source: Children & Young People Now

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