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Values - Children

• The child’s welfare, safety and needs are at the centre of the adoption process;
• Adopted children should have an enjoyable childhood, and benefit from excellent parenting and education, enjoying a wide range of opportunities to develop their talents and skills leading to a successful adult life;
• Children are entitled to grow up as part of a loving family that can meet their developmental needs during childhood and beyond;
• Children’s wishes and feelings are important and will be actively sought and fully taken into account at all stages of the adoption process;
• Delays should be avoided as they can have a severe impact on the health and development of the children waiting to be adopted;
• A sense of identity is important to a child’s well-being. To help children develop this, their ethnic origin, cultural background, religion, language and sexuality need to be properly recognised and positively valued and promoted;
• The particular needs of disabled children and children with complex needs will be fully recognised and taken into account;
• Where a child cannot be cared for in a suitable manner in their own country, intercountry adoption may be considered as an alternative means of providing a permanent family;
• Children, birth parents/guardians and families and adoptive parents and families will be valued and respected;
• A genuine partnership between all those involved in adoption is essential for the NMS to deliver the best outcomes for children; this includes the Government, local government, other statutory agencies, Voluntary Adoption Agencies and Adoption Support Agencies.

Values - Adopted Adults and Birth Relatives

• Adoption is an evolving life-long process for all those involved - adopted adults, and birth and adoptive relatives. The fundamental issues raised by adoption may reverberate and resurface at different times and stages throughout an individual’s life;
• Adopted people should have access to information and services to enable them to address adoption related matters throughout their life;
• Agencies have a duty to provide services that considers the welfare of all parties involved and should consider the implications of decisions and actions for everyone involved;
• Agencies should seek to work in partnership with all parties involved, taking account of their views and wishes in decision-making;
• Agencies should acknowledge differences in people’s circumstances and establish policies that provide non-discriminatory services;
• Adopted adults have their adoptive identity safeguarded and the right to decide whether to be involved in contact or communication with birth family members.

The Welfare Checklist

Section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 provides that whenever a court or adoption agency is coming to a decision relating to the adoption of a child, it must have regard to the following matters (among others):

1. The child's ascertainable wishes and feelings regarding the decision (considered in the light of the child's age and understanding);
2. The child's particular needs;
3. The likely effect on the child (throughout his life) of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become an adopted person;
4. The child's age, sex, background and any of the child's characteristics which the court or agency considers relevant;
5. Any harm (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989) which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
6. The relationship which the child has with relatives and with any other person in relation to whom the court or agency considers the relationship to be relevant, including:
   1. The likelihood of any such relationship continuing and the value to the child of its doing so;
   2. The ability and willingness of any of the child's relatives, or of any such person, to provide the child with a secure environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to meet the child's needs;
   3. The wishes and feelings of any of the child's relatives, or of any such person, regarding the child.

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