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The government has confirmed a change in the adoption register’s operator and referral system, writes Shirley Kumar.

The Department for Education and Skills said Baaf Adoption and Fostering would take over responsibility for the register on 1 December for three years from charity Norwood, as predicted by Community Care last month (see 7 October issue).

Changes to the register’s operation include the move to a “targeted” referral system that will require agencies only to refer to the register when they are “not actively considering a local match for a child or a family”.

The register will also allow agencies to choose from a range of referral methods, including online referrals, in an attempt to reduce paperwork.

“It’s an interesting development for the government to take a more targeted approach. Agencies will be happy with less paperwork but it will not give us an overall picture about all the children up for adoption”, Norwood adoption register operations manager Vivienne Reed said.