Plan to limit contact with birth parents risks isolating children from wider family, charity warns

The government launched two discussion papers last week calling for views - one on the subject of contact between looked-after children and their birth parents, the other on the issue of separating siblings in care.

The papers are based on recommendations from the government’s adoption adviser Martin Narey, who is concerned that contact with birth parents and placing sibling groups for adoption can be damaging to children in care.

The discussion paper on the issue of contact suggests that government could “look again at the duties on local authorities in primary legislation to allow children in care reasonable contact with their birth parents and to promote contact for looked after children”.

“Removing these duties would remove the perceived presumption of contact in all cases and help local authorities to take a case-by-case decision about the best contact arrangements for the individual child,” it states.

Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of the Who Cares? Trust, welcomed the fact that government is reviewing both contact arrangements and practice relating to sibling groups in care, but she urged caution over any change in the law.

She argued that relationships between children in care and their wider birth family must not be overlooked, adding that children’s views about contact should have been at the centre of the government’s proposals, but “it appears that greater weight has been given to the views of adults who adopt”.

“The proposals on contact do not set out the government’s thinking on contact with the wider birth family, including siblings,” she said. “These are equally important and a truly child-centred approach to the issue of contact would have looked at what children say about contact with all members of their family.”

“It is absolutely right that steps are taken to ensure that any child’s contact with their birth family is both well managed and, crucially, in the child’s best interest.

“We are concerned that the proposals will have a knock-on effect on the thousands of children in care who are not adopted. Without adequate safeguards, legislation could be put in place which reduces or even eliminates the possibility of a child having contact with their birth family when it is right for them.

“The government needs to look at the whole of the care system rather than simply adoption. There is a risk that proposals like these, borne out of a desire to improve one part of the system, may inadvertently harm other children in care.”

David Holmes, chief executive of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said contact for children after adoption must be clearly differentiated from contact arrangements for other looked-after children.

But he argued that the use of high-frequency contact between birth parents and very young children does need reform.

“BAAF has been advocating for a change in practice in relation to the level of contact that is being agreed for some babies and children – daily contact sessions in some cases often accompanied by long journeys,” he said.

“This cannot be good for children. For this reason we particularly welcome the suggestion that statutory guidance should be strengthened to ensure that more consideration is given to the purpose of contact for infants. Indeed contact for all children needs to be purposeful and should only be agreed when it is in the best interests of a child.”