Adoption has gone straight on to the political agenda for autumn after the Conservative leader William Hague challenged the government to make legislative changes to the system or face a Tory-backed private member's bill. One way or another, a national register of approved adopters and children ready for adoption looks on the cards. But how far should this go?
A new, independent, national website on adoption and fostering, launched by Derbyshire county council and the Derby Evening Telegraph newspaper, is raising many of the difficult questions that any official model will face. In particular, is it acceptable to publish on the internet photographs and details of children without restrictions on access?
The precedent for the site was set last year when, amid a welter of publicity, pictures and details of six Derbyshire children were posted on the web as an experiment. The response was overwhelming, with the site registering 19,000 visits in four days from potential and approved adopters. The council had to employ extra staff to deal with the applications. All the children found prospective parents and two are now with their new families.
The permanent site launched this summer, adoption-net.co.uk, provides a comprehensive overview of adoption, fostering and child welfare across the country. It offers advice ranging from how to become an adoptive parent, to dealing with a difficult child, to even tracing a relative lost through adoption.
"I would hope this is the way forward," says David Allen, who chairs Derbyshire social services. "Adoption can be a long, arduous process both for the adult and the child. Our aim is to keep bureaucracy to a minimum and so speed up that process. We can provide all the necessary information for someone wishing to adopt. Should they need to get in touch with a particular agency, we will have the contact number. In conjunction with the government, we want to see children adopted sooner rather than later, and not fostered for years."
The site has recently been carrying a picture and profile of 11-year-old Heather, who has been in care for five years and is said to be seeking an adoptive family.
Allen, who was criticised during last year's experiment, acknowledges the concerns of using such methods. "Obviously anyone can access the site, and people's fears regarding paedophiles are understandable," he says. "Safeguarding children is our main priority, but in terms of potential adopters, the police conduct thorough checks [as part of the vetting procedure] before applications are taken any further."
Allen also refutes the suggestion that the site is merely a picture gallery, promoting a "pick-your-child" ethos. "We show children as ordinary people, in need of love and stability," he insists. "They must consent to appear on the site, and no child under the age of eight is put on. We make sure they are happy to be featured."
It is a view that will do little to dispel the misgivings of those who question this approach. But Mike Norton, the deputy editor of the Evening Telegraph, insists that the new website is an effective adoption tool.
He says: "When the site appeared last year, we realised how many more parents there were available for adoption. The system as it is just isn't working, as not enough parents are being found.
"The problem lies in the fact that social services departments don't talk to each other. For instance, a parent in Derby could be perfect for a child in Nottingham, but this may not come to light. Accordingly, the site doesn't recognise any county barriers.
"There isn't a lot of information about adopting elsewhere on the web. So if a parent in Sussex wants more information about organisations there, we will have the details."
In this respect, Norton views the site as a gate-opener, providing guidelines and up-to-the-minute information and news. "If the government announces a press release today," he says, "it goes on the site today".
While welcoming any initiative that expedites the adoption process, Felicity Collier, the chief executive of British Agencies for Adopting and Fostering, remains concerned by the abuse of information that both the internet and a national register might promote.
"Paedophiles surfing the net and accessing kids is a worrying scenario for us all," she says. "And before we have an explosion of children on the web, we need more guidelines. A password-encrypted site of approved carers would, to my mind, be essential. A child being recognised in the street is problematic, as it may invite advances from other people.
"And if the child has, say, a love of horses, a stranger could use this in conversation. The particular use of words could also be embarrassing for a child. If he or she is described as being bad-tempered or destructive, this is no help to the child at all. Whether incorporated into a website or a national register, this issue must be addressed."
However, Collier does highlight an area where a national register could have a positive impact. She says: "If it provides for the matching with adopters of children in terms of a disability or their ethnicity, that would be most welcome."
Her views are echoed by Sue Seabrook, adoption project leader for the Children's Society charity. "We don't know how a national register will work, but a detailed infrastructure will have to be put into place," she says.
"However, since local authorities looking to place children usually look within their own resources first, a national database, and possibly the internet, might facilitate the process. But webs need good security as paedophiles are very clever and devious. They will use any methods to get to children, so using photographs on a site is a worry."
With figures showing more than 5,000 children in England waiting to be adopted, and 1,300 people cleared to adopt but still waiting for a child, Seabrook is keen to give technology a chance. And if it enables more people to learn about adoption, and possibly offer themselves as adopters, so much the better. But she insists that the procedures must still take time.
"Whatever the methods used, the vetting of families remains a difficult and sensitive process," she says. "It's a real task to look after some kids, particularly those who have had traumatic experiences.
"However, you have to be positive, and hope that these initiatives will help more children find loving homes."
