 |
|
Parents and Children
Exercise 1.Read the text and answer the following questions:
1. What is a legal status of illegitimacy?
2. Is it possible to register the father without the mother's cooperation?
3. What laws are made in respect of adopted children?
4. Who is responsible for vetting foster parents and placing children with them?
There was never a legal status of illegitimacy: it was simply that various legal benefits belonged to children who were born to parents who were married. Gradually the significance of legitimacy has been diminished by reform of the law. In particular, if there is a gift in a will to the children, save those natural children who were adopted by other parents.
Nevertheless, a child born of parents who are married still benefits. The identity of his or her father is known and he or she enjoys an automatic legal relationship with both parents.
It is now possible to register the father without the mother's cooperation, but only if there is a court order based on a finding of paternity. The policy of the law is that a child should eventually be fully informed as to his or her origins.
Adopted children become, in every legal sense, the children of their adoptive parents. At the time of adoption a full record is made of the birth, the child's sex and the names and details of the adoptive parents.
The Children Act 1989 initiated a comprehensive review of the law on adoption and many changes were made. Adoption proceedings are now «family proceedings» and the court has power to make orders under these proceedings.
The Registrar General is required by the Act to set up an adoption contact register which will help adopted people to contact their natural or birth parents and other relatives. This will only be available to people who are 18 or over.
Adoption can only take place if the natural mother consents when the child is illegitimate. Applications to adopt can be made by married couples if both parents are over 21 or by single persons who are unmarried or married but permanently living apart. Strict legal requirements must be compiled with before an adoption order can be made and the local social services department will be involved in vetting potential adopters.
Local authority social services departments are responsible for vetting foster parents and placing children with them. Sometimes foster children can be placed under private arrangements, in which case the local authority should be informed beforehand unless the foster parent is a relation, guardian or has custody of the child or the fostering is only for a short time.
Anyone concerned about a child can apply for him or her to be made a ward of court. Legal aid is available for the application to the High Court. Immediately an application is put in to the court, the child becomes a ward of court and cannot be taken out of the country before the hearing. This usually takes place within 21 days and at the hearing the court will do, what it thinks necessary for the protection of the child. It is an emergency measure. The Children in boarding schools are being properly cared for and they may inspect premises, interview children and look at school records.