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But the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, told the BBC that if society takes the view it does not discriminate against same-sex couples, people couldn’t be given exclusions on the grounds of their religion. The court will initially convene a first directions hearing where a number of issues will be considered with a view to ensuring the case is prepared for a final hearing. An adopted child may divulge when s/he is in placement, that they have been abused at some time in their previous history. Local authorities must have procedures in place for responding to notices of intention and assigning a suitably qualified social worker to the case.

And even if they were approved as carers, they often didn’t have children placed or were only see as providing short-term fostering or respite care. Before that time, adoptions still occurred but were arranged informally or privately by organisations or directly between the birth mother and the adoptive parents.

In the area of adoption, the report acknowledges that the 2014 Act made several important changes which were broadly aimed at speeding up the adoption process (by removing the potential wait for the ideal ethnic match) and for securing homes for all those children who needed them. Once these requirements are satisfied a child can be transferred to the State where the prospective adopters reside to allow the legal adoption process to take place. It is now a legal requirement that the adoption agency looks at each prospective parent that wants to adopt in more detail, often taking medical advice before they come to their final decision. The Act provides for the establishment of a review procedure in respect of decisions made by adoption agencies regarding adoption.

There are effective processes in place to address, challenge and monitor the quality of practice - see Adoption: messages from inspections of adoption agencies (CSCI, 2006) at www. The Act also allows for the introduction of special guardianship, a legal status that allows for a child to be cared for by a person with rights similar to a traditional legal guardian, but without a requirement for absolute legal separation from the child's birth parents. Agencies that provide intermediary services must give priority to those adoptions that took place on or before the 12 th November 1975.