Page 3103 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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The Greens are supportive of the idea that adoption can be an option available for the placement of children as a final solution if their home situation is found to be untenable. Importantly, if a jurisdiction includes adoption as part of its range of options for children, prospective adoptive parents should be treated with respect and fairness, and the system should be resourced in a way that ensures that this can happen. There should not be unnecessary waiting times, there should not be unnecessary administrative hurdles and there should not be a pervasive attitude of negativity around the concept of adoption. If we are going to engage in adoptions, be they local or international, we should engage in them in good faith and we should value the role of adoptive parents in that process and ensure that their journey is as painless as possible.
But of course the primary concern in the area of out of home care is the welfare of the child, and that is the primary lens through which decisions should be made and processes should be progressed. Ultimately, the needs of the child must be put at the centre of the decision making, and the immediate needs of the adoptive parents do sometimes come in behind that. But the truth is that most prospective adoptive parents also want the child’s needs to be served best as well. This is a child with whom they have already formed a significant attachment and for whom they deeply care, so of course they want the best outcomes. But I suspect that sometimes what the adoptive parents believe to be best for the child, and what other parties in the process consider to be best for the child, can be different perspectives.
The ACT’s out of home care strategy, a step up for our kids, has sought to put in place a framework that builds long-term stability for children, with an emphasis on early reunification with a child’s birth family or a permanent placement within two years. Long-term placement can occur for children under two years old after a period of 12 months on care and protection orders and by allowing an application for enduring parental responsibility after a continuous period of 12 months in care or a total of 12 months in a two-year period.
The new out of home care strategy delivers a more nuanced and sophisticated approach to the management of children in care, seeks to respond to concerns of carers and foster families and family members and strives to achieve that delicate balance while keeping the best interests of the child at the fore.
Nothing about the governance around adoption should be rushed. Yes, children should not be moved from placement to placement and, yes, permanency is important, but it is more important, if we are to place children permanently in another family, that there is due process around birth parent consent or the waiving of parental consent.
It is obvious that we all hope that birth families can firstly be supported to be able to parent their children and then, if it is found that that cannot happen, any placement of that child in another care setting and planning for that child’s future is undertaken with the birth family being fully informed of the implications of their decisions and their actions. This is not a simple area to work in, and the relationships are obviously complex. It takes time and it takes effort. But, ultimately, we are only serving our children well when we are sure that fair process has been undertaken.
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