Government updates adoption register procedure

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.