SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN REGULATIONS

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 582.01

SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS

ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN REGULATIONS

24th December, 2018

LEGAL NOTICE 445 of 2018.

The title of these regulations is the Social Regulatory

Standards on Adoption of Children Regulations.

(Regulation 2)

Standard 1: Children’s Rights and Involvement

Standard Statement

This standard promotes the upholding of children’s rights by

involving and supporting children throughout pre-adoption

proceedings as well as post adoption.

Quality Indicators

1. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency helps

children understand the adoption proceedings and supports

children to express their opinions and feelings in an age

appropriate manner.

2. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency

supports children throughout the transition and placement within

an adoptive family.

3. For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency monitors and supports the children who

have been adopted through its services.

These regulations by means of the Schedule, elevate the

Social Regulatory Standards on Adoption of Children, to the status of

subsidiary legislation under the Social Care Standards Authority Act.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires

''Accredited Agency'' as defined within the Adoption

Administration Act means an organisation which is accredited

by the Central Authority, in accordance with The 1993 Hague

Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in

respect of Intercountry Adoption, to carry out local and/or

intercountry adoption;

''Adoptees'' means a person or persons who were adopted

before they reached the age of eighteen (18);

''Adoption'' as defined within the Adoption

Administration Act means a local or an intercountry adoption

made in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, the

provisions of the Adoption Administration Act and any

regulations made thereunder;

''Adoption Board'' means the Board established by virtue

of article 3 of the Adoption Administration Act;

''Adoptive parents'' means a person or persons who

adopted children;

''Adult adoptees'' means a person or persons who were

adopted before they reached the age of eighteen (18) and who

are now older than eighteen (18) years of age;

''Applicants'' means a person or persons who apply with

an Accredited Agency to adopt children, but who have not yet

been approved as eligible and suitable prospective adoptive

parents by the Adoption Board;

''Birth family'' means the natural family;

''Birth parents'' means the natural mother and/or father;

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

''Board of Appeal'' means the Board established by virtue

of article 16 of the Adoption Administration Act or an

administrative board or other tribunal, which may be appointed

provisionally by the respective Minister to carry out all, or part

of the functions specified in the Adoption Administration Act;

''Central Authority'' means the Authority established by

virtue of article 7 of the Adoption Administration Act;

''Children'' as defined in the Adoption Administration

Act, means a person or persons under eighteen (18) years of age,

as stipulated within the standards, who are being considered for

adoption, are being adopted or have been adopted;

''Children’s opinion'' means a child or children’s

expressed thoughts and feelings that are sought after taking into

consideration the child’s age and level of understanding;

''Country of Origin'' in respect of intercountry adoption,

means the country from where a child is adopted;

''Court'' as defined by the Adoption Administration Act

means the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section);

''Intercountry Adoption'' as defined by the Adoption

Administration Act means an adoption effected in accordance

with the provisions of the Civil Code relating to adoption, the

provisions of the Adoption Administration Act and the law of a

foreign country

(a)

in accordance with the 1993 Hague

Convention or any other International Treaty to which

Malta is a State party; or

(b)

in Malta, in respect of a child not habitually

resident in Malta, or in favour of any person not

habitually resident in Malta;

''Local Adoption'' means an adoption that involves

adoptive parents and children that at the time of adoption are

habitually resident in Malta;

''Management'' means a person or persons who act on

behalf of the Accredited Agency to provide leadership to staff

and to oversee and control the proper functioning of the services

offered;

''Open Adoption'' as defined in the Adoption

Administration Act means an adoption made in accordance with

article 22 of the Adoption Administration Act and article 119 of

the Civil Code, whereby children maintain contact with their

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

birth parents and/or birth family;

''Performance Indicator'' means an active descriptor of

what the Accredited Agency needs to do to ensure service

outputs that support the quality indicators;

''Prospective Adoptive Parents'' means a person or

persons that have been approved by the Adoption Board as

eligible and suitable to adopt children;

''Quality Indicator'' means a statement that sets out the

requirements to achieve compliance with a standard;

''Search of origin'' means the search carried out following

a request by the adopted persons to the Accredited Agency, for

information regarding the adopted persons’ origin and their

birth family;

''Social Worker'' in accordance with the Adoption

Administration Act shall have the meaning assigned to it by

article 2 of the Social Work Profession Act;

''Staff'' means a person or persons engaged by the

Accredited Agency wherein one of the person’s responsibilities

is to deliver services or provide support for the delivery of

services in the field of adoption of children, irrespective of

whether or how the person is compensated;

''Transition'' means the process through which the

children start living with the prospective adoptive parents.

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency assists and supports children, who have been

adopted through its services, in their search of origin.

Standard 2: Preparation and Support for Adoptive Parents

Standard Statement

This standard promotes preparing and assisting persons to

become adoptive parents as well as supporting them as adoptive

parents.

Quality Indicators

1. For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency informs prospective applicants about the

child adoption process and the services that it offers.

2. For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency prepares applicants to become prospective

adoptive parents in an effective and detailed manner.

3. For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency evaluates prospective applicants in a holistic

and effective manner in order to safeguard the children’s best

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

interests.

4. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency

matches children with prospective adoptive parents using a

rigorous and transparent published procedure.

For intercountry adoptions, the Accredited

Agency supports and gives advice to prospective adoptive

parents throughout the matching process.

For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency

supports prospective adoptive parents when the children start

living with them.

For local and intercountry adoptions, the

Accredited Agency supports adoptive parents after the adoption

decree has been issued by the Competent Court.

Standard 3: Support for Birth Families

Standard Statement

This standard promotes informing and supporting birth families

involved in the adoption of children.

Quality Indicators

1. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency

informs birth parents about their rights and the adoption

process.

2. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency

assists and supports birth parents.

3. For local open adoptions, the Accredited Agency

involves birth parents in drawing up an open adoption

agreement.

Standard 4: Service Quality Management

Standard Statement

This standard promotes service management based on

continuous improvement of service operations and staff

development.

Quality Indicators

1. The Accredited Agency implements management

strategies to continuously improve service delivery to persons

using its services.

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

2. The Accredited Agency implements transparent

recruitment strategies and plans for the continuous development

of its staff.