Adoption

History of the act of formal adoption and the law

- pre and post 1976.

Adoption was put on a formal footing in 1926, following the publication of the Adoption of children Act.

Prior to this adoptions were aranged by adoption sociates and between private individuals. Some societies, one being the Church of England Childrens society

maintains records of adoptions that they arranged. Boards of guardians also prepared reports but very few remain.

When the act was drafted it was assumed that the adopted peroson break with the birth family would be total and it was believed that adopted would never

be able to trace their birth roots.

By 1927 Adoptions had to be approved by magistrates meeting at a petty court session where each court maintained a register. The registers contain the

Date, name of the child to be adopted, & the date of birth. Also the name and address of the birth mother (and some times the father ) Name and address of

the adoptive parents and sometimes name of person acting as guardian ad litem and the decision of the court.The registers can be disapointing as hand writing

is often poor.

These registers are closed by law for 75 years

The clerk to the petty session court kept a file on each adoption and many have been destroyed .Some maybe deposited at the NRO, but are not open to

public inspection.

Later ,Local authorities were given authority to supervise adoptions and childrens officers were appointed, sometimes attached to the education dept ( before

the creation of social services dep's in 1971), who again kept a register of all the cases whith which they were involved. The registers are dated 1927-1945

and are a useful indication as to wether there are papers relating to the adoption in the Childrens officers files. If the register indicates That the county

Council acted as Guardian Ad Litem , there should be relevant papers.

Childrens officers files can be disappointing but should contain forms signed by birth mother relinquishing her rights to the child.Sometimes there is

correspondence from the local clery as to the suitibility of the prospective parents .Sometimes a note about the birth mother and her circumstances, and in

some cases notes about the father too.

Registers of all adoptions are kept at the General Register Office and indexes to them can be access BUT Only the adoptee is allowed access to the infomation

that links the birth name with the adopted one.

The Adoption Act which came into being in 1976 , changed things slightly. This made provision for people adopted after 11th November 1975, the right to

access their birth records one they reached 18 years of age. It gave people adopted before that date the same right, except with the proviso that they must

seek councilling first.The NRO will NOT release records to anyone without the appropiate official paperwork to say this has been done.