Adoption Reforms New South Wales Style: A Comparative Look

Abstract

When a court determines there is no realistic possibility that a child can continue to live safely with their parents, that court must make a difficult decision, based on the child's 'best interests', as to the alternative arrangements re-quired for their long-term care. Recent reforms to the care and protection legislation in New South Wales now require the courts to give greater consideration to adoption as one option for children who cannot be restored to the care of their parents. This is in response to ongoing concerns about the lack of stability and security for children who experi-ence multiple placements in out-of-home care. There are lessons to be learnt from studying the different approaches of other common law jurisdictions such as the United States, England, and Wales to increase the adoption of children from out-of-home care. The comparison with the approach taken in New South Wales highlights the need to think carefully about the purpose and construction of adoption as a legal device when it is applied as a form of public, not private law. It is also important to consider what support services might be needed to assist children, parents and adoptive parents, particularly post adoption and into adolescence and adulthood.

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