A public consultation ahead of a review of the child adoption laws has drawn several suggestions, including calls for the medical history of biological parents to be made available to parents who wish to adopt locally and want a clear picture of the medical identity of the adopted child.
The public consultation was launched in November and delved into the process for the adoption of children, with specific attention towards local adoptions and 'open adoptions'.
Giving details during a press conference, Family Minster Michael Falzon said that the consultation was the first step towards facilitating local adoptions.
“Due to the pandemic, last year was not a good year for adoptions. There are currently over 400 children who, in terms of a care order are not living with their biological parents,” he said.
Family Minister Michael Falzon Photo: DOI'Open adoptions' may include contact with extended family
The feedback touched on a number of issues, particularly local open adoptions.
An open adoption means that the child retains a contact and a relationship with his or her biological family. Currently, there are existing laws which allow for open adoptions, but they are not regulated in any depth.
One point which was discussed during the consultation was that the child should be able to also have contact with the extended biological family, not just biological parents, but also grandparents and siblings, the minister said.
Legal consultant Daniela Azzopardi Bonanno, referring to the last point, said it truly depended on the adopted family’s situation. One issue, she explained, was that the adoptive family may have more than one adopted child, and the other child does not have contact with the biological family, which could affect the child psychologically.
One recommendation read that an open adoption should be regulated by agreement but not the Adoption Board.
Original surname
There were contrasting suggestions on whether an adopted child should keep his/her original surname.
One suggestion was that the child should even have the possibility of having a double barrel of both their original and adopted surname.
Azzopardi Banonno explained that the surname issue was extremely sensitive.
“If the child decides to keep the original surname, this might offend adopted parents who open their homes and hearts for the child who does not take their surname,” she explained.
“It could even lead to more stigma for the child having a different surname from their adopted family, and might lead to them explaining their personal situation over and over again.”
Other recommendations focused on adoptions when the child is a newborn.
Other recommendations looked into clarification on how cohabiting couples will be able to apply for adoption and training by social workers to both biological and adopted parents.