People affected by adoption will be able to get free telephone and face-to-face advice from government-funded counsellors from October 1 as part of the Bligh Government’s adoption laws reforms.
Child Safety Minister Phil Reeves said the new adoption support service would have a free call hotline, local counsellors in the South-East and regional Queensland as well as training in adoption issues for health professionals and other counsellors.
“Adoption is a complex and sensitive matter that affects many people - birth parents, adoptive parents, the adoptee, and extended family,” he said.
“The new adoption support service being established this year is an important element of the modern adoption system this government is putting in place.
“It will support people affected by adoption throughout their life as well as building skills and knowledge about adoption issues among other health and ‘helping’ practitioners.
“Importantly, the service will be available to help people work through the effects of the new laws on them about information and privacy.”
Legislation was re-introduced to Parliament this week to replace the 45-year-old Adoption of Children Act.
Former Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech introduced the reform bill in February, but along with several other bills, it lapsed when Parliament was dissolved for the March 21 election.
The new adoption laws will also enable all adopted people and birth parents to obtain identifying information about other people associated with the same adoption once the adopted person is 18 years of age, irrespective of when the adoption occurred.
Other significant reforms are:
·the introduction of open adoption, where a child’s birth and adoptive families can know each other from the time of the adoption,
·courts, rather than public servants, making adoption orders - in line with other states and territories and
·allowing de facto couples who have been in a relationship for at least two years to adopt.
As well as face-to-face counselling and the hotline, the new adoption support service will:
- help people to prepare the documents they needed to lodge with the government about whether or not they wanted to be contacted by their birth parents or their child who was adopted,
- mediate in discussions between people involved in adoption issues,
- help people understand adoption information when it is received.
Mr Reeves said the Department of Communities would be seeking a community agency to run the new adoption support service for the government.
“We will be seeking expressions of interest by mid-year in time for the service to be running by October 1,” he said,
The Bill is expected to be passed in 2009 and all reforms in place by early 2010.
Media contact: Minister’s office 3224 7081
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