Selection of Adopters
Effectively, selection of prospective adopters is controlled by Local Authorities and the Adoption Agencies. They themselves have to follow national guidelines concerning age, health and cultural requirements. Those guidelines are not binding on the Courts, but of course access to the adoption process is ruled by the Agencies and the Local Authority adoption panels, whose procedures remain clouded and inaccessible.
There are very tight regulations prohibiting local authorities from placing children with a family where one member has a conviction or even a caution, which could be many years old, relating to sexual offences or offences against children.
Meanwhile the debate over cross-racial placements continues. Adoption Agencies are still bound to follow guidelines that judges are prepared to ignore, but the suitability of a particular couple for adopting a child of a different racial background will be the subject of careful scrutiny by the social worker reporting to the court.