Projects
The Intermediary Support Services Project (England and Wales)
 The main purpose of the
Intermediary Support Services Project (ISSP) is to find out what services are
currently provided in England and Wales for birth relatives who want to
trace and make contact with an adopted relative.
Read the report (pdf) from the project's first year.
 To read pdfs you will need Acrobat Reader
(download free from Adobe).
On this page:
Why is the project necessary?
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 has overhauled adoption legislation and
has brought in some new provisions for birth relatives of adopted adults.
Under Section 98 of the Act, birth relatives of an adopted adult can request that an
adoption support agency provides an intermediary service so that they can let
the adopted adult know of their interest for contact.
The new provisions will be
implemented in two phases. In the first phase birth relatives can request
intermediary services for people who were adopted before 12 November 1975.
The second phase will provide intermediary services where the adopted person
was adopted after 12 November 1975 (see also the Explanatory Notes to the
Act, para 244, page 55).
What's behind the legislation?
During the past decade there has been a growing number of birth relatives,
mainly birth mothers, who have expressed a desire to have some information
about the child they placed for adoption. Some birth mothers whose children
were adopted many years ago felt they had no choice – at the time their child
was born it was socially unacceptable to have a child born out of wedlock.
In response to this a number of adoption agencies and local authorities have been
willing to provide an intermediary service and make contact with the adopted
adult to let them know of the birth relative’s interest for contact and information
about their wellbeing. However, the provision of these intermediary services has
been patchy and inconsistent. Regulations are to be made under the Adoption
and Children Act 2002 which will address this inconsistency by giving birth
relatives the right to ask for an intermediary service.
How is “birth relative” defined?
A birth relative in relation to an adopted person, is defined as any person (other
than an adoptive relative) who is related to the adopted person by blood
(including half blood) or marriage.
Who will be responsible for providing intermediary services?
In the future intermediary services for birth relatives will be provided by
registered adoption agencies, including local authorities and voluntary adoption
agencies, and also registered adoption support agencies. Registered adoption
support agencies are likely to include current independent providers of (adoption
support and intermediary) services.
What is likely to be the demand for these services?
It is possible that initial publicity will increase enquiries but this may reduce over
time. This is really difficult to predict. This is one of the reasons why the scheme
is being implemented in two phases.
How will these services be funded?
It is expected that local authorities, voluntary adoption agencies and registered
adoption support agencies will be responsible for funding this service. However,
the Government has indicated that it will be possible to charge birth relatives for
the service provided. To date we are awaiting draft regulations and guidance so
it is impossible to be more explicit at this stage.
How is the Intermediary Support Services Project funded?
BAAF has been awarded a Section 64 grant by the Department for Health (Dept of Education and Skills) for this project. The grant covers provisions in both England and Wales.
What is the Adoption Search and Reunion website?
This site is intended to be the first port of call for anyone thinking about searching
for or making contact with birth and adopted relatives.
There’s information about recent changes to the legislation, the right to make or refuse contact,
finding intermediary service providers and information about Adoption Contact Registers.
Visit www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk to find out more.
|
