A leading family charity has warned that parents who voluntarily place their babies in foster care are at risk of losing them forever.
The Family Rights Group say they have discovered that 127 babies, 111 of whom were under six weeks old were placed in foster care with carers who were already approved to adopt children, since fostering for adoption came into law three years ago.
They were unable to ascertain how many had been permanently adopted.
Under previous legislation, it was assumed those who voluntarily placed their children in the care of the state would have the option of reclaiming them later, according to The Guardian.
However, with the introduction of fostering for adoption legislation, there is a possibility that some fostering arrangements could turn into permanent adoptions against the biological mother’s wishes.
Chief executive of The Family Rights Group Cathy Ashley says many of the birth mothers have no access to free legal aid and some do not understand the legal implications of their child being placed under the foster for adoption scheme.
She says this is “deeply unfair and unjust to the mother and child.
“It is much harder to get a baby back than it is to keep a baby when it’s not been removed,” she said. “So, it can be adoption by stealth.”
According to a freedom of information request obtained by The Family Rights Group, some of the babies placed in the foster to adopt scheme are too young to be legally adopted.
Ms Ashley explains: “What’s really shocking is the number of very young babies who this is happening to very soon after birth. It’s not legal to permanently relinquish a baby under six weeks old, but mothers are being asked to sign voluntary arrangements below that age, with their babies then placed with a foster carer who’s a potential adopter.”
In contrast, when an application is made to remove a child from a family home, the biological parents are offered free legal aid and representation in court should they dispute the decision.
Family Rights Group say they warned the government about the implications of fostering for adoption before it came into law.
The group are now calling for parents who voluntarily place their children in foster care to given the same legal advice about their entitlements as those whose children are fostered under a court order.
“We also believe that local authorities should not be using fostering for adoption placements for children accommodated under section 20 without a family court scrutinising the local authority’s case,” Ms Ashley said.
