I need to take a step back and answer some questions at the heart of my adoption. I have been told that when I was adopted the process “was fairly simple and straight forward. There is no doubt that many more regulations are in place now and hind sight is a great thing but at the time of [my] adoption, the whole process went smoothly.”
To answer this we need to look at a few facts. 1) a definition of what adoption is 2) what were the rules that were in place in the 1960’s to deal with adoption 3) is there any way that there could have been a misunderstanding in what a provisional adoption order was.
1) a definition of adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parent or parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Adoption – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Every culture has their own way of dealing with the issue of adoption. Many answer the challenges of the permanent change in status through legal processes. In recent times the Hague Adoption Convention has become an internationally recognised convention dealing with the issue of international adoption. Whatever the name of the process or convention the underlining idea is the safeguarding and protection of the child that is to be adopted. In this regard there is little that is ‘simple’ it is in fact incredibly complex, as it should be.
2) What rules were in place in the UK that governed adoption in the 1960s & early 1970s
While there were early regulations governing adoption in the UK, the first modern regulations were known as the Adoption Act 1958 and came into force on 1 April 1959. This was the result of the report of the Hurst Committee, delivered in September 1954. On the basis of the Committee’s findings new laws were put into place governing the consent of the natural parents, qualifications of adopters, adoption procedure and the procedure used in cases where the adoption is disputed. In addition to the regulations put in place by the UK government, the government also accepted the European Convention for the Adoption of Children in 1968. This placed further requirements on the process of adoption that all involved with adoption in the UK had to adhere to.
Some today will look back at this period as a simpler time in the development of adoption, the reality is very different. The basis of much of today’s adoption law is based upon the developments following the Adoption Acts 1958. The one thing that the Adoption Act 1958 cannot be accused of was being simple, it was a very complex piece of legislature that was attempting to ensure the safety of the child facing adoption. It may not have been successful in all that it attempted to do, but in the development of adoption law it was a landmark.
3) Could there have been a misunderstanding of what a provisional adoption order was?
Given that:
1) this was the focus of a number of Commons debates and was discussed in the papers, this was not a piece of legislature that the public were unaware of.
2) there were only two options available, adoption order for those who were resident in the UK and provisional adoption order if you were not. The requirements for gaining one of these were slightly different from the other.
3) the adoption agencies were concious of the change of legislation required of them for international adoption
4) the solicitors involved with preparing the paperwork for the County Court would have known the difference
5) the process for gaining a provisional adoption order took double the time than a regular adoption order, it is highly unlikely that someone at some point would not have mentioned the two options needed.
6) In my case I have letters from lawyers in the USA vouching for my ‘adopted parents’ and offering their services to complete the adoption in the USA.
Given all of these factors I think that it is a long stretch of the imagination to believe that someone either did not know or misunderstood what it was that they were getting when the applied for a provisional adoption order.
Provisional Adoption Order (UK 1958) 