Atkins Hope Hosts Lecture Event

Atkins Hope hosted a lecture event in Medway on the subject of Adoption, they were delighted to welcome Dr Derek Kirton from the University of Kent who gave a lecture entitled “Adoption Reform, a triumph for common sense or “manufactured crisis?"

Adoption is a complex and difficult subject which in recent years has been the subject of growing political scrutiny, our Family Law Jurisdiction allows for the concept of “forced adoption” where the legal process can dispense with parental consent to adoption if it is considered to be in the welfare of the child for them to be adopted. In a wide ranging lecture looking at the experience of Adoption in the US, the process of reform and reports leading to the Children and Families Act 2004 , Dr Kirton illuminates this challenging area of practice and asks whether (as a performance management tool) more adoption is necessarily better. Recent press reports of more adoption as a result of the recent changes need to be viewed in the overall context of the Family Justice System .

The audience consisted of senior local judges, barristers, solicitors ( both Local Authority and Private Practice) and adoption social workers from both Kent and Medway, a lively debate followed the lecture with refreshments and networking. Anyone wishing to receive the overhead slides can contact us via the contact page on this website.