Opinion: Debate - Should children up for adoption be shown on the web?

YES - Jonathan Pearce, director, Adoption UK

Thousands of children with a range of needs are awaiting adoption each year but it can be hard to match them with suitable parents. Magazines such as Adoption UK's Children Who Wait offer an invaluable service to family finding agencies in recruiting parents for those children. Using the internet to feature children offers another opportunity to promote them positively. If issues of security and privacy are properly considered the internet can help more children be matched with parents.

YES - Ann Davison, social work team manager, Adoption Matters

I would give a cautious yes to this idea because there are more than 3,000 children waiting for adoption and nearly 20 per cent don't get a single enquiry. Children already appear in magazines like BAAF's Be My Parent so there's a precedent on paper. The caution is that the thought of children on the internet is not a particularly comfortable one. The site would have to be protected so only approved agencies and families could access it. I would worry about site security.