Welcome to another week.
A petition calling on the government to investigate forced adoption and fostering in the UK, created by David Alexander has gained momentum after the media broke a story about the death of a toddler at the hands of her adoptive father.
Elsie, whose real name is Shayla, was killed by her adoptive father after the local authority placed her in his care. Shayla’s grandmother has also signed the petition.
The petition has gathered over 4,000 signatures and calls on the government to carry out an independent review of both forced adoption and fostering. The petition calls these practices a form of child abuse, and suggests they are tantamount to child abduction. It also highlights the ‘risk of future/ significant harm’ test under S.31 of the Children Act 1989, which allows social workers to remove children on the basis that harm to a child could take place in the future, often with very little evidence to support the view. The petition also calls out the lack of transparency in the process.
Forced adoption is a controversial practice which allows government agencies to remove children from parents without their consent, if they believe the child in question is at risk of harm. The UK is part of a small number of countries which engages in forced adoption, and sits at the far end of the practice, employing what are viewed as extreme policies in this area. World wide, forced adoption has seen a sharp decline, with fewer and fewer countries including it as part of their child protection policies.
Fostering, though seemingly less controversial, raises similar questions about the benefits of removing children from vulnerable parents and the effects of separation on both the children and their biological families.
Those in favour of forced adoption and fostering take the view that it is better for children in the long term to be placed with families who can offer them a childhood free from the difficulties that can arise when living with vulnerable parents.
Those against, believe that children are always better off with their biological parents and that the government should offer families any kind of support needed as of right, in order to keep children and parents together.
Our question to you this week, then, is just this: do you think forced adoption and fostering practices should be banned in the UK?
If you’d like to know more about forced adoption, from the legality of the practice, to developments surrounding the policy, you can access articles on the subject by clicking on our Forced Adoption link in the categories section.
Researching Reform 
Successive governments have seen an opportunity to make money out of a social need, it started with Blair,
As with the advent of abortion and single parenthood, the only babies/children available for adoption were those in care.
LAs took over all adoptions and small charitable agencies like Catholic Adoption ones despite their hard won experience were closed down, now most are private companies.
Adoption was Cameron’s flagship policy – announcing his shock that only 60 babies had been adopted that year from care implying that many lingered in care because of the court system.
Concurrent planning was renamed fostering to adopt, so children were placed immediately with prospective adoptors making it even more difficult for parents to reclaim their children .
Adoption agencies were also parent assessors like CORAM etc and were paid £27,000, if an adoption went ahead but only 7,000 for assessing the parents, if it did not, so clearly a conflict of interests.
This, and the 26 time limit , the forced joint instruction by CAFCASS, LA and parents of experts forced parents to rely on experts who were being used to show their lack of parenting skills
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The legal definition of at risk ‘significant harm’ needed for a care order has been extended now from emotional harm to neglect.
Mainly by lobbying/research with government money by NSPCC and Woman Aid and Refuge, the later made common assessors for the government of abuse, meaning that most abused woman now lose their children.
Now over 80% of application are based on neglect very few are based on physical or sexual abuse
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Curtesy of 375 US mental disorders and any parent with a learning disorder lose their children on risk of future emotional harm.
Now pregnant pre and post natal mothers are targeted with mental issues of depression
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Social workers on the mantra of early intervention were told to concentrate on the under 4s, with ever faster easier secret care orders, which have doubled to an average of 1650 per month care application in just 7 years
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The % of successful care application has increased from 80% to 98%.
Older children were ignored and scandals like Rotherham’s managers blamed this policy
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We are the only country in Europe bar Portugal to force adoption
The amount paid of public money per adoption to the agency, is a minimum of £30,000, but the maximum is discretionary, read here
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inter-agency-adoption-fee-grant-for-local-authorities
The legal justification for a care order, leading to adoption/fostering, is whatever is in the welfare of a child, but the welfare check list does not take into consideration the psychological affect per se of adoption/care, nor of thinking your parents were so inadequate your adoption was forced, nor adoption breakdown and re entering care the affect of being deracinated from all those similar to you.
And it assumes the permanency of adoption, without proof, as we still have no definitive numbers of the adoption breakdowns and I still do not think they are being tracked by LAs
..
For proof positive, this is not about Child Protection, but the syphoning off of public money into private companies, last year LAs tried to exempt themselves from liability to the children they were paid to protect.
Sorry to go on, but I have followed this horror and found it all beyond disgusting and cannot envisage nor can anyone, the pain and permanent damage it has caused to so many.
And there is no evidence it has improved child protection..
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Here are some 2014 figures on the amount of profit being made from the fostering industry.
They will be higher now as government funding increases yearly and so do successful care applications now averaging 1600 per month.
Why in times of supposed ‘austerity’, is our government paying out such sums to remove children to strangers for ever.
And often a child has a different foster parent every 6 months.
Foster Hubs are now being built which comprise of part care home part foster parents as the system is running out of foster parents.
Remember birth parents are targeted and can’t win against the system, whereas foster/adoptive parents are approved by the system so can’t lose.
https://corporatewatch.org/news/2015/dec/15/foster-care-business
https://corporatewatch.org/news/2015/dec/15/foster-care-business
Foster Care Associates
Owned by: Jim Cockburn and Janet Rees through Ideapark Ltd
Income from foster care in 2014**: £127.2m
Payouts to owner in 2014: £7m
Highest paid director salary and other benefits: £406,000
National Fostering Agency (includes the Foster Care Agency)
Owned by: Stirling Square Capital Partners (previously Graphite Capital until April 2015)
Income from foster care in 2014*: £94.5m
Payouts to owners in 2014: £14.4m to Graphite Capital
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £318,112
.
Acorn Care and Education (includes Fostering Solutions, Pathway Care Fostering and Heath Farm Fostering)
Owned by: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Income from foster care in 2014*: £73.1m
Payouts to owners: £13m accrued in 2014
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £266,420
back.
Partnerships in Children’s Services (includes Orange Grove, ISP, Fosterplus and Clifford House)
Owned by: Sovereign Capital
Income from foster care in 2014*: £29.8m
Payouts to owners in 2014: £1.9m
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: not shown in accounts
we have not heard back.
Swiis Foster Care
Owned by: Dev Dadral and family
Income from foster care in 2014: £29.4m
Payouts to owners in 2014: £1.5m (from the wider Swiis group, see below)
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £169,000
Capstone Foster Care
Owned by: Different individuals and companies (see below)
Income from foster care in 2015: £21.1m
Payouts to owners in 2015: £406,000
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £185,000
Compass Fostering (includes The Fostering Partnership, Eden Foster Care and Seafields Fostering)
Owned by: August Equity
Income from foster care in 2015: £25.9m
Payouts to owners in 2015: £3.1m accrued
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £131,000
caretech
Owners: shares are publicly-listed – Farouq and Haroon Sheikh biggest shareholders with 20%
Income from foster care in 2014: £12m
Payouts to owners in 2014: £240,000 in 2014
Highest paid director’s salary and other benefits: £324,000
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There is a Council of Europe report which lists forced adoption as one of the ABUSIVE practices which are STANDARD in the UK. 96% of all adoptions are ‘forced’, i.e. AGAINST the will of the biological parents.
See http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/XRef-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileId=21567
Removal of babies at birth is the other big crime or ‘abusive practice’!
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So why have Europe done nothing about it ? Because effectively the UK, for all the media propaganda, is not controlled by Europe unless it wants to be.
That you for the 96% where did it come from, in case challenged ?
But know in view of fact that very few mothers are now in age of abortion giving up babies it must be correct.
How UK is getting away with all this and it has gotten worse in last 7 years shows the society/governments we are living with.
Best Wishes Finola
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Yes, yes, Finola!
96% are official statistics.
There was a UK academic who ‘defended’ the UK position, after I challenged the issue in EU Parliament.
But the UK gets her way with the need for ‘native speakers’, I was told.
The book by John Coleman about the Tavistock Institute explains how global policies have been hatched here… Not just family courts abusing secrecy for sinister purposes…
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Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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“do you think forced adoption and fostering practices should be banned in the UK ?”
Well its a resounding YES from me.
im glad the Family of the Tragic little girl Shayla are pushing this. its a Barbaric practice that should never have been allowed in this country and i say shame on the police for going along with it instead of challenging LAs for parents who have committed no crime. a full investigation into the corrupt procedures of Social workers is absolutely crucial and must begin as soon as possible. thousands will come forward with evidence to back up what they are saying. Shayla would still be alive if it wasnt for Forced adoption.
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Ive just signed the Petition. share share share everyone!
https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-call-on-the-government-to-order-a-independent-investigation-into-forced-adoption-fostering
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How awful for the family of Sheila’s real family. My heart goes out to you.
I am totally against forced adoption! It has been proven adoption meets the needs of the adopters not the child. One can say it also meets the needs of social workers getting the child off their books and become someone else’s responsibility.
Adoption doesn’t meet the emotional needs of the child. It has been proven the child is mentally harmed when removed from their parents. Fosterers and (non family) special guardians, in the main, do it to provide an in-home income for themselves. The £400.00 plus per week per child would be better spent on supporting parents keep their children.
In forced adoption all legal ties are cut with the birth family but family ties are being cut when a child is in foster care or with non family special guardians.
When a child is in care, fostered or under non family special guardians many children are not seeing their parents at all. Parents are told by social workers the child doesn’t want to see them or anyone else in the family for that matter (and an independent advocate has to be requested by the child who doesn’t know they can make a request) and no reason is given. I believe this contributes to the child’s mental illness. The child is in conflict with what they truly want. Appeasing who they live with for survival. Denying what they really want. What they say and what they really mean are interpreted by social workers (who are not psychologists) but all contact is stopped immediately regardless, which leads me to believe it’s part of their agenda or else continuous efforts would be made to restore relationships. Cutting off Contact is a short term solution for social workers that creates long term issues for the child into adulthood.
A FOI to all authorities requesting how many children see their families on a regular basis once court proceedings are finished, would throw insight into how social workers use fostering and special guardians as a non legal adoption. Contact is supposed to be maintained but I’m increasingly hearing that is not the case.
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“Parents are told by social workers the child doesn’t want to see them or anyone else in the family for that matter (and an independent advocate has to be requested by the child who doesn’t know they can make a request)”.
As always Dana you are 100% accurate with what you have stated here. you know the workings of the Evil child protection system down to every detail. We are very like minded.
we need to press the Govt to take notice of this Harsh reality of child stealing by Local Authorities. judges also need to be held accountable along with all the rest.
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My apologies for not noticing predictive text on Shayla’s name before I posted.
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Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
The very term – ‘Forced Adoption’ suggests bondage. This is a monstrous injustice and an abuse of power.
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Absolutely.
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Not surprising that every comment is against forced adoption. I agree, despite being adopted myself and being thankful for it. But I think for balance, we should hear from someone who is involved in the practice, if any such read this column. I have never heard anyone trying to defend the policy and cannot think of any arguments for it, but presumably there must be some. . . .I’ll be signing the petition.
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The Council of Social Workers last year sent out a survey to all social workers asking for opinions on the practice see my twitter, as yet I can’t find the results.
Probably shows, they are not happy but then the SW vocation/profession has been effectively destroyed, most actual doers are itinerant on fixed contracts or even zero hours see REED AND iNDEED vacancies..
SWs are hired on an ad hoc basis, as effectively court enforcers, managed by a line manager and then over manager.
If they want more income they have to do what they are told.
Similar in Adult Social Worker, where, once the adult disabled or old, are safely in residential care for life the social worker is replaced by a care manager.
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Yes, forced adoption and forced foster care should be outlawed with exception of parents being convicted of child abuse and no relatives support
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Reblogged this on tummum's Blog.
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Pingback: Forced Adoption – Question It! | tummum's Blog
Reblogged this on | truthaholics and commented:
Please sign this petition calling on the government to investigate forced adoption and fostering in the UK. It has been started by the family of murdered toddler, Elsie, whose real name was Shayla.
The draconian blueprint for parental alienation and demothering/defathering is hammered out on the anvil of non-consensual or forcible child removal, based on an undemocratic application of s31 of the Children Act 1989 by local authorities at court.
Blatant statism trumps autonomy by victimising family members.
Thus cycles of multi-generational harm and family/parental alienation are unleashed.
All purportedly in the name of child protection and safeguarding.
Children are unnecessarily deprived of loving parents and natural family life, regardless of gender, due to prioritising a corporate business plan. Instead of objective scrutiny, rubber-stamping false, misleading and inaccurate reporting is, all too often, the norm.
If non-consensual, forced adoption and fostering practices were banned in the UK, the blueprint for obvious miscarriages of justice would also be abolished even in private law.
s83 of CA 1989 has proven wholly inadequate in its remit of research and returns of information over looked after children so needs root and branch reform.
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https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fp%2Ftheresa-may-mp-call-on-the-government-to-order-a-independent-investigation-into-forced-adoption-fostering%2Fnftexp%2Fex4%2Fv1%2F300905841%3Frecruiter%3D300905841%26utm_source%3Dshare_petition%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook%26utm_campaign%3Dshare_petition%26utm_term%3Dshare_petition%26utm_content%3Dex4%253Av1&h=ATNRKoItyr4Jrl_SrDrEkiZgt_5sFJHGraYJDh_yksFWSe2sb5aBj-UB-8g7XJYgCeyT-BLcipw9dogWtBV3IEcTrNaf3rJYhrhtu9CG0FSETk-KWyHf9MgirNha2UN6v3AaLgTa_F-O8rbtU7xqso5kP18fftr10dNagvKsP2oMi8tTJgPW06BtHSuVqTvumE_qAIUEjbobMoZjqk2Elpdq-ujG08uXPK5dWAJuT0oCH8Ygn83PzVT5fIWULKuvBQIypvScD9eyelG0YtY65JfopsyzWRrRWOF77qg-3Q
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this article states that the family have started this petition when in fact it is my petition i am a grandparent who has also like elsies gran had twin granddaughters stolen for the forced adoption business while i have their older sister the only reason they had for stealing the twins was because i was sixty years old and they assumed it might be to much for me i do not know if my twin granddaughters are alive or not and their six year old sister asks why they are not living with her daily after social workers allowed her to visit them and cuddle them on the first and second day after the birth them unlawfully stopped all further contact for her knowing that they was stealing them for adoption elsies gran has supported my petition as what i am asking for is what she herself wants i am hoping to team up with this other grandmother to make this petition go viral and collect 100,000 signatures to hand in to downing street i hope people will support us and share this petition and make it go viral soon
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Thank you David, I will correct the post. I’m sorry to hear about your experience too.
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natasha i have no problem with the post at all and i dont mind about the mistake the fact that sian singed and supported this petition has given it a good boost it just so happens that the reasons they would not allow sian to have her other grandchild is the same as me and their is a lot of us grandparents out hear that are having fomilies destroyed for the business of forced adoption the system claims to have the best interest of the child at heart when infact the system only cares about the money and targets rather than what is been done to families and destroying family life i am the author of the petition but it is for all families that are been torn apart in the interest of business and targets
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Thank you, David.
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