The High Court has authorised adoption orders for two brothers by the couple who have cared for them since 2013, after finding that the statutory conditions under section 54 of the Adoption Act 2010 were met.
In a judgment delivered on 10 April 2024, Ms Justice Nuala Jackson said the boys wanted to be adopted and that their views were authentic and independent. The older boy described wanting his place in his long-standing foster family to be made official; the younger boy said adoption would make him feel fully part of the family. The judge found that adoption was in their best interests.
Their birth mother opposed the applications. She argued that the Child and Family Agency (CFA) had not done enough to support contact, prepare the boys for visits during her incarceration, or help them understand their family histories. She also questioned whether the boys’ views had been influenced and argued adoption was not proportionate, particularly for the older boy, who was close to adulthood.
The judge acknowledged the birth mother’s and birth father’s efforts to address serious difficulties in their lives. She found, however, that the CFA had undertaken considerable work to support contact and life-story work, and that the boys’ views reflected their own experiences. The boys had lived with the applicants for most of their childhoods. The judge found that neither birth parent had exercised day-to-day parental decision-making for well beyond the statutory 36-month period, and that the statutory tests concerning parental duty, welfare, abandonment of parental rights, state intervention, the boys’ home with the applicants and proportionality were satisfied.
The birth father initially opposed adoption of his son but later said he would not oppose the application and would sign the necessary consent documents. The judge said the required statutory proofs were satisfied even apart from his agreement.
The court will seek an undertaking from the applicants to support the boys’ wishes about contact with and information concerning their families of origin, in a manner consistent with the boys’ best interests. The judgment notes that post-adoption contact would be voluntary and could not be imposed by legal order.
The judge said she would make an order under section 54(2) for both boys and shortened the time for serving any appeal notice to 14 days because the older boy was close to majority.