Long-term foster care vs adoption

One of the questions we are often asked by clients in care proceedings is the difference between long-term foster care and adoption.

Both options are available to a judge when making a final order in care proceedings, and they are sometimes considered within the same set of proceedings.

Both options involve the long-term removal of a child from their birth parents, but there are some key differences to be aware of. In this article we breakdown the similarities and differences between long-term foster care and adoption.

Long-term foster care

Long-term foster care is the placement of a child with a foster family until they turn 18. If a child is placed into long-term foster care, parental responsibility is not transferred to the foster carers. Parental responsibility remains with the child’s birth parents and the local authority. This means that the child’s birth parents and the local authority have the right to be involved in decisions about the child’s welfare and to have a say in decisions relating to the child. The local authority will delegate day to day decision making to the foster carers, but the foster carers do not hold parental responsibility for the child.

Long-term foster care usually allows the birth family to stay in direct contact with the child, because the parents will continue to have parental responsibility for the child. Long-term foster care can be considered a suitable option where the birth parents cannot meet the child’s needs, there is nobody else in the family who can meet the child’s needs, and the child is around 5 years old or older.

Adoption

An adoption order can only be made by the Family Court if the court concludes that adoption is in the best interests of the child, and there is no alternative family placement.

When a child is adopted, the legal rights and responsibilities of the child transfer to the child’s adoptive parents. When an adoption takes place, the legal ties between the child and their birth parent(s) are cut. The birth parents lose parental responsibility and parental responsibility rests entirely with the adoptive parents – it is not shared by anyone else, including the local authority. This means that the birth parents no longer have an automatic right to be involved in the child’s life. Adopters become the child’s legal parent, and the child gets a new birth certificate.

Due to the transfer of parental responsibility, birth parents are not guaranteed contact with their child if their child is adopted. This is to ensure that the adoptive placement is stable and to give the child appropriate boundaries as they grow up and understand more about their circumstances. However, it is becoming more common for the court to encourage post-adoption contact between a child and their birth parents if appropriate. This is is partly, to help them in understanding their identity and, increasingly to mitigate risk of children using social media to contact birth parents in an unmanaged way.

Adoption can be considered a suitable option if it is felt that the birth parents cannot safely care for the child, if there is nobody in the wider network of family or friends who can care for the child, and the child is under the age of five.

For many parents in care proceedings, adoption represents their worst-case scenario. The Family Court is very clear that adoption is a last resort and should only be considered when ‘nothing else will do’. Adoption will only be considered if neither birth parent can meet the child’s needs, there is nobody else in the family who can meet the child’s needs, and if there is no plan of support that could effectively safeguard the child whilst remaining with their birth family. The courts recognise that adoption is a drastic order, and this is not a decision that a judge will take lightly.

If you would like further information, please contact a member of our Child and Parent Law team.