3.11.13 Disclosure of Adoption Information and Intermediary Services (Pre December 2005 Adoptions)

Legislation

Adoption and Children Act 2002;
The Adoption Information and Intermediary Services (Pre-Commencement Adoption) Regulations;
1983 Adoption Agency Regulations to the 1975 Children Act;
Adoption National Minimum Standards 2011 - Standard 16.

Definition of Terms

Appropriate Adoption Agency – The adoption agency who placed the child for adoption and holds the adoption records or the adoption agency for the local authority informed of the intention to adopt by prospective adopters.

Intermediary Agency – an agency registered to offer an Intermediary Service to adopted adults and birth relatives.

Intermediary Service – a service offered by an Intermediary Agency where an adopted adult or birth family member applies to an Intermediary Agency for a service to contact a birth family member or adopted adult. Access to birth or adoption records is not included in an Intermediary Service.

Adoption Support Agency – an agency who has registered as such under the relevant regulation and is therefore able to offer support to those affected by adoption and to operate as an Intermediary Agency.

General Register Office – the Government Department holding records of births, marriages, deaths, and adoptions. Details of adoptions and identifying information regarding adoptive and birth names is held on the Adoption Children Register. The General Register Office also holds the Adoption Contact Register where adopted adults and birth family members can register their current details and a wish for contact. Under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 they can now also register a wish for no contact.

Vetos - An adopted adult can record a full or partial veto on being approached by an Intermediary Agency.

Part One: Introduction

RBKC will provide information to adopted persons aged eighteen and over in relation to that person’s adoption, where RBKC is the appropriate adoption agency in relation to that person. The information will include the possible impact of using an intermediary service, information about the Adoption Contact register and qualified and absolute vetoes.

RBKC will act as an Intermediary Agency for the purposes of:

Assisting adopted persons aged eighteen or over, who were adopted before the 30th December 2005, to obtain information in relation to their adoption;
Facilitating contact between such persons and their birth relatives.

Part Two: Applications for Intermediary Services

1. As an Intermediary Agency, RBKC may accept an application:

From a person adopted before 30th December 2005 for assistance in contacting a birth relative;
From a birth relative of a person adopted before 30th December 2005, for assistance in contacting that person.

Depending on the demand for this service, RBKC reserves the right to prioritise applications in favour of adoptions made before 12th November 1975 or where there is a risk to life or there are other special circumstances.

All parties involved in the application must be aged eighteen or over. If it is discovered that the subject of the application is under the age of eighteen, RBKC will not proceed further with the application

2. Welfare

In deciding whether to proceed with an application, RBKC will consider the welfare of all parties and take regard of:-

The welfare of the applicant, subject and any other persons who may be identified or otherwise affected by the application;
Any views of the Appropriate Adoption Agency where this is not RBKC;
Any information obtained from the Adoption Contact Register;
All other circumstances of the case and in particular where any person identified or affected by the application is under eighteen years of age.

3. Where acting as an Intermediary Agency, RBKC will adhere to the guidance specified in the Regulations 2005 as below:-

No identifying information will be disclosed to the applicant about the subject without the subject’s consent.

NB Identifying information means information which, whether taken on its own or together with other information possessed by the applicant, enables the subject to be identified or traced;
If the subject has died or RBKC determines that he/she is incapable of giving informed consent, RBKC may disclose such identifying information as it considers appropriate having regard to the welfare of all parties as described above in 2;
RBKC will take all reasonable steps to ensure that any person whose consent to disclosure is required, has sufficient information to make an informed decision as to whether to give consent.

4. Vetos

When acting as an Intermediary Agency, RBKC will meet the wishes of the subject where the subject is the adopted person and has notified the appropriate adoption agency in writing that:
1. He or she does not wish to be contacted by an intermediary agency in relation to an application; or
2. He or she only wishes to be contacted in specified circumstances and will therefore either not proceed with the application or take account of the specified circumstances in which the subject wishes to be contacted;
3. When acting as an Appropriate Adoption Agency for an adopted adult, RBKC will keep a written record of when RBKC has been notified of any veto by an adopted adult and ensure that it is made known to any Intermediary Agency that contacts RBKC in relation to an application.
Where a veto is in force or consent to share information with the applicant is refused by the subject, RBKC will give consideration as to whether to disclose any non-identifying information to the applicant in order to help the applicant in his or her understanding and acceptance of the refusal of the subject to give consent;
A birth relative of an adopted adult has no power of veto but can register a wish for no contact either through the Appropriate Adoption Agency or the Adoption Contact Register. An adopted adult may also register a wish for no contact rather than a veto.

5. Counselling

As part of the service offered to applicants and subjects by RBKC and in its attempts to arrange contact between adopted persons and their birth relatives, a basic level of counselling will be offered in order to help all parties understand the possible effects of contact on themselves and others. This is likely to include one or two sessions of between one and two hours.

Should further counselling be needed or requested, an independent counselling service will be sought. RBKC has a contract with the voluntary organisation After Adoption which is also registered as an Adoption Support Agency and available therefore to act as an Intermediary Agency. Independent counselling is available from After Adoption for all adopted adults and birth family members who have lost a child to adoption who are residents either of Kensington and Chelsea or any other London borough who has a contract with After Adoption which currently includes Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster and Harrow. There is no cost for this counselling.

In other cases, counselling would be identified through another Adoption Agency or registered Adoption Support Agency where there is likely to be a fee charged. Written information about counselling services and fees would be obtained by RBKC from the relevant agency. Should the applicant or subject live outside of England and Wales, approaches will be made by RBKC to other appropriate agencies.

Should applicants or subjects wish to avail themselves of further or longer term counselling, RBKC will offer help and advice to identify a suitable counsellor who is also registered as an Adoption Support Agency and of fees for this service.

Where there are fees incurred for tracing or research or for information from the General Register Office or a Court, the applicant will be asked to pay these directly to the agency who is charging the fee.

Part Three: Procedure

A. Access to Birth and Adoption Records

Applications by Adopted Adults

Such applications will be received by RBKC from adopted adults where

RBKC (or that part of the London County Council in Kensington and Chelsea prior to 1965) is the Appropriate Adoption Agency;
The adopted adult lives in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea;
The adopted adult has for a specific reason, other than the length of waiting list, nominated RBKC to offer counselling in relation to receipt of birth records (priority would be given to applicants living in the borough or adopted through RBKC);
The Adopted adult was adopted through the Westminster Catholic Children’s Society (CCSW) whose registered office lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. CCSW no longer acts as an adoption agency and it is the Royal Borough’s responsibility to provide access to birth records for former CCSW adoptee's. RBKC discharges this obligation through a contract with CCSW.

Access to Birth Records

Adults adopted before 12th November 1975 are required to have counselling before receiving access to their birth records.

Adults adopted after 12 November 1975 are able to obtain information about their birth records directly from the General Register Office. They may request and expect a counselling service from an adoption agency.

The General Register Office should supply information about the name on the original birth certificate of the adopted adult and of his or her birth mother as well as the name of any adoption agency involved in placing the child for adoption or the local authority informed of the intention of the adoptive parents to adopt. (For purposes of access to records or request for an Intermediary Service, this local authority would then be seen as the Appropriate Adoption Agency). The General Register Office will inform the applicant where no records can be found. See Chapter 3.10.13, Birth Records, for the more detailed procedure.

Where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency

Where it is established that RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency (i.e. the agency responsible for originally placing the child for adoption), an adult adopted before 30th December 2005 may make an application to RBKC either directly or through another Adoption Agency or Intermediary Agency for access to any adoption records held by RBKC. An application may be made in writing, by telephone or email initially but should be made formally in writing to the Adoption and Permanency Team. The application will be acknowledged in writing within five working days.

A record search will be made and any files or papers requested from archives. The result of this search will be communicated to the applicant or other agency within one month of receipt of application of the request. The files or papers will be read by an Adoption Support Social Worker and third party information removed. Depending on the length and complexity of the files, this should be completed within six weeks. Where there are ‘in care’ and adoption files there may be different procedures involved. Where demand for this service is high, there may be a waiting time of up to three months before work can commence.

Where another agency is working directly with the adopted adult and offering a counselling service, RBKC retains the discretion about removal of third party information and will send copies of information from the files to the other agency.

Although RBKC would generally wish to give any information to an adopted adult that would help him or her to establish his or her identity and to make sense of his or her original background and reasons for adoption, RBKC also retains the right to withhold information where the welfare of the adopted adult or other individual may be jeopardised, in particular the welfare of any child under the age of eighteen years.

Where a child was looked after prior to adoption, procedures regarding access to ‘in care’ records may apply for information regarding the period of time prior to a plan for adoption being made.

Counselling and support will be offered to any adopted adult who requests access to adoption records from RBKC and would be seen as part of the process. It is unlikely that any adopted adult will be unaffected emotionally or psychologically by reading his or her adoption file. Should further counselling be needed, a referral may be made to After Adoption on behalf of the applicant and no charge would be made to the applicant for this service.

On some occasions, After Adoption may be requested to carry out access to records on behalf of RBKC but should still refer to RBKC regarding any discretion on what should be shared with the applicant. The applicant will be given information about After Adoption and other agencies such as Norcap and the Post Adoption Centre and the services they can offer to adopted adults.
Where RBKC is not the Appropriate Adoption Agency

Where the applicant lives in the borough or has requested that RBKC offer counselling, RBKC will attempt to locate records on behalf of the adopted adult. If successful, the applicant may then choose whether to approach that agency directly for access to records or request that records are sent to RBKC. Responsibility for third party information being removed and ultimate discretion with regard to what may be shared with the adopted adult, would remain with the Appropriate Adoption Agency. RBKC will otherwise follow the same procedures as with applicants where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency. However, it may be more likely that RBKC would request that this work be carried out on its behalf by After Adoption.

B. Requests for an Intermediary Service (Section 98 Adoption and Children Act)

RBKC has taken on the responsibilities of offering an Intermediary Service to adopted adults and birth relatives of adopted adults under the regulations and guidance of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. In some situations RBKC may ask After Adoption to complete this work on their behalf. RBKC will consider requests from:

Residents of RBKC who were adopted or who have a birth relative who was adopted before 30th December 2005 where applicant and subject are over the age of eighteen;
Adopted adults where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency or if the adoption took place before 1965, the records of London County Council for the geographical area of RBKC are held by the London Metropolitan Archives;
Where a birth relative of an adopted adult does not live in RBKC but RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency, RBKC would expect the birth relative to obtain the services of another Intermediary Agency before RBKC took on any involvement in making contact with the adopted adult. RBKC would need acknowledgement from the Intermediary Agency that the General Register Office has confirmed that RBKC or the London County Council were involved in the adoption placement, before considering a request for an Intermediary Service. BAAF have compiled a Directory of Intermediary Services and established a website, Adoption Search Reunion, which can be of use to those requiring an Intermediary Service.

For adopted adults

RBKC will consider requests from adopted adults over the age of eighteen years for an Intermediary Service to make contact with their birth relatives and would strongly recommend that an adopted adult use an Intermediary Service in order to establish contact with a birth relative even if this is not through RBKC. RBKC will make steps to establish whether a birth relative has registered ‘a wish for no contact’ with the Appropriate Adoption Agency or on the Adoption Contact Register with the General Register Office. RBKC is not a tracing agency and although they may offer advice on how to do basic tracing or on other agencies who might offer this service, RBKC does not have the resources to conduct lengthy searching for the birth family members of an adopted adult. Counselling and support can be offered whilst the adopted adult conducts his or her own search (an adopted adult will have identifying information as a result of access to birth and adoption records) or requests the service of another agency to do this on his or her behalf. At the time of writing (April 2006), After Adoption offer a basic search at a cost of £30 and may be able to offer further help if this proves unsuccessful at an agreed cost with the adopted adult. RBKC are also members of Norcap who can offer a search at a cost of £195, which includes the cost of individual membership to Norcap. Such costs would be borne by the applicant.

RBKC would offer an Intermediary Service to make contact with a birth relative once traced and involvement as an intermediary in order to build up contact should this be requested by both parties. RBKC are very aware of the sensitive nature of this work and the need to tread carefully and not rush. RBKC reserves the right to require that any birth relative obtain the services of another Intermediary Agency as part of the process. Contact would be likely to be initially by letter and telephone calls before a meeting was arranged in a neutral venue, time limited and with social work support.

Should more intense or regular counselling be required, RBKC would support the applicant in identifying a suitable Counsellor, registered also as an Adoption Support Agency and the level of fee charged. This fee would be the responsibility of the adopted adult. Counselling arranged through After Adoption would be free to the applicant and would include a maximum of six sessions. Should the applicant wish to engage the services of a qualified Counsellor or Therapist who was not registered as an Adoption Support Agency he or she would need to do so with the knowledge that they are not a registered Adoption Support Agency.

For Birth Relatives

RBKC will consider requests for an Intermediary Service from birth relatives of adopted people where both applicant and subject are over the age of eighteen years and the birth relative can provide evidence of this and of their link to the adopted adult. RBKC reserves the right to refuse to offer a service where this cannot be satisfactorily evidenced or where the link is seen to be too tenuous or distant as in the case of a distant relative or where there is no biological connection. Other Intermediary Agencies may be approached by the applicant where the service is refused by RBKC. RBKC may request After Adoption to do this work of an Intermediary Service to birth relatives on its behalf.

A birth relative seeking an Intermediary Service should contact a RBKC Adoption Support Social Worker by telephone, email or in writing and then make an application in writing. This will be acknowledged in writing within five working days.

Where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency, they will access their adoption records of the adopted adult. They will establish whether there is any veto registered by the adopted adult or ‘a wish for no contact’ in the records or on the Adoption Contact Register. Time will be needed to do this and to read any records in order to have an informed view of the situation at the time of the placement for adoption. The applicant will be kept informed of progress. Any fees for information from the GRO or other agency will be required from the applicant.

Where RBKC is not the Appropriate Adoption Agency, the Adoption Support Social Worker will take reasonable steps to establish whether an Adoption Agency was involved in the adoption, and if so to identify the appropriate Adoption Agency.

These steps must include:-

Requesting that information in writing from the Registrar General;
If the Registrar General certifies that he does not have that information, requesting it in writing from the court that made the adoption order;
Making enquiries of the Local Authority for the area where the adoption took place.

The applicant will be offered an initial interview and counselling regarding process and procedure and the possible impact of reunion for all parties. The applicant will be encouraged to give some information about themselves, their history and current situation and support networks. The applicant will be advised that no identifying information can be given without the consent of the adopted adult. The applicant will be advised of the right of the adopted adult to register ‘a wish for no contact’ or a veto. RBKC reserves the right to use its discretion not to offer an Intermediary Service where the circumstances of the applicant or subject raise significant concern regarding the welfare of any party. If RBKC decides not to offer a service, the applicant will be informed verbally and in writing. The applicant may use the complaints procedure of RBKC or approach another Intermediary Agency. The applicant will be advised that tracing will need to be done by or on behalf of the Intermediary Agency and that there will be a cost for this payable by the applicant. Tracing may be done by After Adoption, Norcap or individual researchers and costs will vary. An application to NORCAP is at the time of writing (April 2006) costed at £195. The fee for tracing will be payable directly to the tracing agency by the applicant.

Counselling will be offered by RBKC or After Adoption throughout this process at no cost to the applicant. If the applicant requires ongoing or more therapeutic counselling RBKC can help the applicant to identify a counsellor or therapist who is also registered as an Adoption Support Agency. If the applicant selects a Therapist or Counsellor who is not also an Adoption Support Agency, the applicant must be made aware of this and take responsibility for this choice. Any fees for longer term or therapeutic Counselling are likely to be met by the applicant.

Once an adopted adult is found, he or she will be contacted by letter and invited to make contact with RBKC. RBKC may ask another Intermediary Agency to work with the adopted adult to offer advice and counselling and support throughout the process. The adopted adult will be informed of his or her legal rights in relation to the application from the birth relative. The adopted adult will be offered an initial interview to establish their wishes and feelings in respect of the application and be encouraged to share information about his or her current circumstances and support network. The adopted adult may be given information about the applicant, his or her reasons for making contact and his or her wishes and feelings regarding the application. The adopted adult will be offered counselling during the process from RBKC, After Adoption or another Intermediary Agency. There will be no charge to the adopted adult for this service and RBKC would consider meeting charges made by other agencies for this service to an adopted adult. However should ongoing or more intensive counselling or therapy be required, RBKC is unlikely to be able to pay for this but will give advice and information about how to find a Counsellor or Therapist who is also registered as an Adoption Support Agency. If a qualified Counsellor or Therapist is not registered as an Adoption Support Agency, the subject would need to be made aware of this and take responsibility for choosing such a person.

Where both applicant and subject wish to proceed with contact, RBKC or any agency acting on their behalf, will offer an Intermediary Service facilitated through exchange of letters and photographs, a meeting in a neutral venue with support and involvement from an Adoption Support Social Worker and follow-up with both applicant and subject about their wish to proceed. Exchange of identifying information would not be encouraged until both parties had time to reflect and make their wishes and feelings known to an Adoption Support Social Worker.

Where the adopted adult does not wish to have contact with a birth relative who has made an application, the adopted adult will be asked whether he or she is willing to share non-identifying information and his or her reasons for not proceeding with contact. If this is not offered, the Adoption Support Social Worker may make a judgement about sharing a minimum of non-identifying information with the applicant which might give some peace of mind whilst not being the outcome wished for by the applicant. The adopted adult will be encouraged whilst registering his or her views, to leave the door open for a possible change of wish in the future.

C. Generally

1. Accessing Information from:

Adoption Agencies

Where the Appropriate Adoption Agency has been identified, the Adoption Support Social Worker of RBKC will contact that agency in order to:-
1. Ascertain whether a veto under Regulation 8 (part 2 sec 4 above) of the regulations exists and if not;
2. Where no veto exists:
  1. Ascertain whether the subject has at any time expressed his or her views about future contact with any birth relative or about being approached with regard to such contact;
  2. Ascertain the views of the agency as to whether the application is appropriate, taking into account the welfare of all parties as specified above – Part Two/2.
3. Seek any other information required for the following purposes:
  1. Tracing the subject;
  2. Enabling the subject to make an informed decision re consent;
  3. Counselling the subject in relation to that decision;
  4. Counselling the applicant.
Registrar General

Where insufficient information has been received from the Appropriate Adoption Agency, the Adoption Support Social Worker will make a request in writing to the Registrar General for:
1. information that he may hold that would enable an application to be made for a certificate from the Adopted Children Register;
2. information from the Adopted Children Register;
  
  This would include where it has not been possible:
  1. To identify the Appropriate Adoption Agency;
  2. To ascertain that no Adoption Agency was involved in the adoption;
  3. To obtain necessary information from an Appropriate Adoption Agency
    
    Where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency but does not hold the necessary information, the Adoption Support Social Worker will contact the Register General.
    
    NB The Register General must take reasonable steps to comply with a written request for information from an Intermediary Agency and if the Registrar General does not hold the information requested, he must provide the Intermediary Agency with written confirmation of that fact together with details of the Court that made the adoption order. The Register General may charge a fee to the Intermediary Agency of £10 for providing information. This fee will generally be payable by RBKC if action is needed because of a lack of information in the records of RBKC.
The Court

Where insufficient information has been received from an Appropriate Adoption Agency or the Registrar General, the Adoption Support Social Worker will make a written request to the Court where the adoption order was made, having received this information from the Registrar General

NB If the Court does not have the information requested, it must inform the Intermediary Agency of that fact in writing, specifying the searches made of Court records and providing the Intermediary Agency of any other Court it considers may have information. A Court may charge an Intermediary Agency a fee not exceeding £20 for providing information. Where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency they will take responsibility for this fee but if not, would expect it to be paid either by the Appropriate Adoption Agency or the applicant directly to the court.

2. Disclosure of Information

RBKC will treat any information obtained as confidential but information (including identifying information) may be disclosed as is necessary:-

To the Registrar General or to the Court for the purpose of obtaining information;
To the Appropriate Adoption Agency for the purpose of ascertaining its views or seeking information;
To the subject to enable him or her to make an informed decision;
To a person providing counselling in connection with an application.

NB An Intermediary Agency that discloses information to the applicant without the consent of the subject is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale

3. Registration of Vetos and ‘a wish for no contact’

A request for veto by an adopted adult must be received by RBKC in writing and signed by the adopted adult. The adopted adult will be strongly encouraged to have an interview with an Adoption Support Social Worker to discuss the implications of registering a full or partial veto. The adopted adult will be required to provide proof of identity through passport or photo driving licence. A written veto will be place on the adoption file of the adopted adult and recorded electronically in a confidential register of vetos.

A ‘wish for no contact’ can be registered with RBKC where RBKC is the Appropriate Adoption Agency by either an adopted adult or birth family member related to an adopted adult. The request must be received in writing and the applicant will be strongly encouraged to meet with an Adoption Support Social Worker to discuss the implications of registering ‘a wish for no contact’. The applicant will be advised of his or her legal right since the implementation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 on 30th December 2005 to record ‘a wish for no contact’ on the Adoption Contact Register through the General Register Office.

Where RBKC is acting as an Intermediary Agency, a request will be made of the General Register Office concerning the status of an adopted adult or birth relative in relation to vetoes or ‘wish for no contact’.

4. Enquiries to RBKC from other Agencies offering an Intermediary Service

Where an Intermediary Agency requests information about an adopted adult on behalf of a birth family member, RBKC will act in its capacity as an Adoption Agency rather than an Intermediary Agency. The Adoption Support Worker will raise the adoption records and advise the other agency:

Whether there is a veto or wish for no contact registered by an adopted adult;
The name and last known address of the adopters;
Any other information RBKC thinks will assist the Intermediary Agency for the following purposes:
1. Tracing the subject;
2. Enabling the subject to make an informed decision re consent;
3. Counselling the subject in relation to that decision;
4. Counselling the applicant.

At the time of writing, no fee will be charged for this service though this may be reviewed in the future.

End