Forced Adoptions march 2010 to july 2010

Dear Enquirer,

Your message has been received and will be dealt with as soon as possible.
Our standard is to reply within ten working days.
Should you need to make contact with us again on this matter, it helps us
if you quote reference number: 97299

Kind Regards
Dan at HertsDirect
Click here: http://www.hertsdirect.org/interactive/h... to
subscribe to the council's new email alert service. Help us by forwarding
this email to friends who may also want to subscribe.

victoria butler To FOI requests at
<[FOI #45462 email]> Hertfordshire County Council
<[Hertfordshire County Council request email]>
19/08/2010 15:55 cc
Subject Freedom of Information
request - Forced Adoptions
march 2010 to july 2010

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

i wish to found out how many children were taken and placed for
adoption durning the period march 2010 and july 2010 for forced
adoption which as i know you will not use the term forcibly adopted
but this is what it is with out the parents consent and i wish to
know how many children in this period have had placement orders put
on them to be adopted as you have said during the period april 2006
till march 2010 there were 202 children but i would like to know
during the short period of march 2010 and July 2010 as a very
concerned grandmother also i would like to know how hertfordshire
county council can state a child will be at emotional risk in the
future as no one can predict the future and also wish to know how
they can take a child from its family when there is family whom are
quiet capable of caring for the child not be allowed to because of
based information from a social worker whom no longer worked for
hertfordshire county council at court hearing as to me
hertfordshire county council are the ones causing the emotional
harm not only to the young child but to an entire family unit and
other children in this family unit

i would be very grateful for this information forthwith

Yours faithfully,

victoria butler

show quoted sections

Reference number: FOI/CSF/08/10/2387

Dear Victoria Butler,

Thank you for your correspondence of 19th August 2010 requesting the
following information:

' i wish to found out how many children were taken and placed for
adoption durning the period march 2010 and july 2010 for forced
adoption which as i know you will not use the term forcibly adopted
but this is what it is with out the parents consent and i wish to
know how many children in this period have had placement orders put
on them to be adopted as you have said during the period april 2006
till march 2010 there were 202 children but i would like to know
during the short period of march 2010 and July 2010 as a very
concerned grandmother also i would like to know how hertfordshire
county council can state a child will be at emotional risk in the
future as no one can predict the future and also wish to know how
they can take a child from its family when there is family whom are
quiet capable of caring for the child not be allowed to because of
based information from a social worker whom no longer worked for
hertfordshire county council at court hearing as to me
hertfordshire county council are the ones causing the emotional
harm not only to the young child but to an entire family unit and
other children in this family unit '

Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by 17th September 2010 at the latest.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number on this email.

Yours sincerely,

________________________________________
Information Governance Unit
Hertfordshire County Council
Telephone: 01992 555848
Fax: 01992 588117
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Ms Butler,

Reference number: FOI/CSF/08/10/2387

On 19th August 2010 we received the following request for information from
you:

'Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

i wish to found out how many children were taken and placed for adoption
durning the period march 2010 and july 2010 for forced adoption which as i
know you will not use the term forcibly adopted but this is what it is
with out the parents consent and i wish to know how many children in this
period have had placement orders put on them to be adopted as you have
said during the period april 2006 till march 2010 there were 202 children
but i would like to know during the short period of march 2010 and July
2010 as a very concerned grandmother also i would like to know how
hertfordshire county council can state a child will be at emotional risk
in the future as no one can predict the future and also wish to know how
they can take a child from its family when there is family whom are quiet
capable of caring for the child not be allowed to because of based
information from a social worker whom no longer worked for hertfordshire
county council at court hearing as to me hertfordshire county council are
the ones causing the emotional harm not only to the young child but to an
entire family unit and other children in this family unit

i would be very grateful for this information forthwith

Yours faithfully,

victoria butler'

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council can
respond as follows:

'1.) Number of children under a placement order, granted between 1 March
2010 and 31 July 2010: 19

2.) Number of children adopted between 1 March 2010 and 31 July
2010: 6
a) Of these, application unopposed:
3
b) Of these, consent dispensed with :
3

With reference to the above figures in no 2.) application unopposed means
that the birth parents have not opposed the plan for adoption and the
making of the adoption order. Consent dispensed with is when the birth
parents withhold their consent from adoption and the courts then dispense
with this despite the birth parents objection.

The plan to place a child for adoption must be endorsed and agreed by the
court within care proceedings. This decision, taken by the judge or
magistrates, is after having heard and read all the evidence before the
court and any expert submissions with regard to the ability of parents or
extended family members to care for the child. Crucial to this is an
assessment of the child's attachment needs and need for contact, and is
addressed within the welfare check list as laid down in recent
legislation. The issue of whether the child's emotional needs can be met
in both the immediate and long term by either the birth family or
substitute carers must be assessed as part of this process and while this
does require projection into the future this is based on the historical
evidence as well as the current evidence before the courts.'

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number FOI/CSF/08/10/2387. To find out more about Freedom of
Information, please visit www.hertsdirect.org/foi

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information, you may complain through the County Council's
complaints procedure which is available at www.hertsdirect.org/complaints

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaints procedure you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to:

FOI / EIR Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,
________________________________________
Information Governance Unit
Hertfordshire County Council
Telephone: 01992 555848
Fax: 01992 588117
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections