Barnardo's Warning

[Robin Harritt]

If you have adoption records or care records being held by Barnardos in the UK
do beware.

In December of last year I asked my lawyer to ask Barnardo's lawyers, why in
1992/3 or thereabouts Barnardos claimed that they held no information about my
sister other than that my mother had had another female child who was adopted?

Yet in 1996 or thereabouts Barnardos was able pass on to me completely
un-requested and as a part of a bundle of other documents, full details not
only of my sister's adoption but also of her paternity and details of the
circumstances of her conception.


Today I received in black and white from Barnardos legal representative Campbell
Hooper (London W5) a letter via my legal representatives outlining amongst much
else, why the above happened.


It was because; '"at that stage Barnardo's were aware that Mr Harritt had
already had a reunion with his sister so this issue had been dealt with".

These people really do beggar belief don't they?

So there you have it then in black and white, all you need do is to have a
"reunion" with one of your relatives long lost to adoption and Barnardos will
automatically and without asking further, let you have all of your relatives
most intimate details.

Yet when you are actually searching for your brother or sister it is perfectly
good practice, apparently, for Barnardos to claim that it holds no records at
all for the person you seek. Even when in fact they do have all those intimate
details as well as the information needed in order to trace.

I wonder if Barnardos President Ms Cherie Booth, our current Prime Minister's
wife runs her legal office in such a way. Or if her husband runs his country
that way?

And Barnardos want me to sign additional waivers before they will show me more
of my own records????? Though I suppose by now they may well have shown them to
just about everyone but me. They certainly seemed to think that that would be an
acceptable way to treat my infant medical records.

If it wasn't clear before, it is now, the terms that Barnardos like to throw
around willy nilly like "duty of confidentiality" and "duty of care" have little
real meaning, what matters at the modern Barnardos is individual and corporate
back-side covering and they can't even manage to do that very well.

And that is just a very very small part of the story.

Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

[Ray Ingham]

Post by Robin Harritt
If you have adoption records or care records being held by Barnardos in
the UK do beware.
In December of last year I asked my lawyer to ask Barnardo's lawyers, why
in 1992/3 or thereabouts Barnardos claimed that they held no information
about my sister other than that my mother had had another female child
who was adopted?
Yet in 1996 or thereabouts Barnardos was able pass on to me completely
un-requested and as a part of a bundle of other documents, full details
not only of my sister's adoption but also of her paternity and details of
the circumstances of her conception.
Today I received in black and white from Barnardos legal representative
Campbell Hooper (London W5) a letter via my legal representatives
outlining amongst much else, why the above happened.
It was because; '"at that stage Barnardo's were aware that Mr Harritt had
already had a reunion with his sister so this issue had been dealt with".
These people really do beggar belief don't they?
So there you have it then in black and white, all you need do is to have a
"reunion" with one of your relatives long lost to adoption and Barnardos
will automatically and without asking further, let you have all of your
relatives most intimate details.
Yet when you are actually searching for your brother or sister it is
perfectly good practice, apparently, for Barnardos to claim that it holds
no records at all for the person you seek. Even when in fact they do have
all those intimate details as well as the information needed in order to
trace.
I wonder if Barnardos President Ms Cherie Booth, our current Prime
Minister's wife runs her legal office in such a way. Or if her husband
runs his country that way?
And Barnardos want me to sign additional waivers before they will show me
more of my own records????? Though I suppose by now they may well have
shown them to just about everyone but me. They certainly seemed to think
that that would be an acceptable way to treat my infant medical records.
If it wasn't clear before, it is now, the terms that Barnardos like to
throw around willy nilly like "duty of confidentiality" and "duty of care"
have little real meaning, what matters at the modern Barnardos is
individual and corporate back-side covering and they can't even manage to
do that very well.
And that is just a very very small part of the story.
Robin Harritt
http://harritt.net

Robin,
I know this doesn't affect you as it is apparently dealing with adoptions
since 1985 but I thought it might be of interest nevertheless. I just cut
and pasted the bit about Barnados present policy but some may be intersted
in the entire report shown at:
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lrc.nsf/pages/R81CHP7

Ray

_____________________________

7.8 The following excerpt from the submission of Barnardo's Australia
demonstrates the level of openness that already exists in practice:


Since its inception in 1985, Barnardo's Adoption program, has endorsed
the philosophy of "open adoption" with all the children in the program
having a detailed Life Story Book, being fully aware and informed of their
birth family members, having photographs and, in most situations, having
physical contact with significant birth family members on an ongoing basis.
In the past 9 years, Barnardos has finalised 52 adoption orders through the
Supreme Court with the mean age of the child at the time of the adoption
order being 9 years. For those referred to the Adoption Program, the greater
majority have contact arrangements, agreed to by all parties, as part of the
adoption application. The Court appears to view these arrangements
positively. The only instances where ongoing contact has not occurred have
been where birth family members decline contact or cannot be found. It is
Barnardos' experience that contact arrangements continue satisfactorily for
many years after the finalisation of the adoption order and are seen by all
parties as beneficial to and in the best interests of the child.3

7.9 Although Barnardos found that some adoptive parents had initial
reservations about openness, the preparation and assessment program helped
to bring about changes in attitudes. A research project, conducted in 1991,
demonstrated that open adoption was supported by adoptive parents and
adoptees and was felt to be in the best interests of all those involved:4

We found that open adoption worked well provided that Barnardos offered
a great deal of support to all parties and the adoptive families were
willing to put both time and effort into maintaining contact. Overall, open
adoption was seen as beneficial and an integral part of many placements ...
It appears that successful open adoptions demand more of the agency and
adoptive families. For positive contact the onus falls on the adoptive
family to initiate and maintain contact if the open adoption is to be
successful.5

[A B Westwood]

Whilst I was searching for an adoption file I was told that it was now with
Barnado's. It turned out that Barnado's had only a few cards & 1 letter and
that the file had been sent on to the social services dept on a local
authority for safekeeping (something to do with the adoption society used at
the time). I have to say that the lady who answered my call at Barnado's
couldn't have been more helpful in trying to assist me BUT ... how did she
know I was who I said I was? I did give her some pertinent details, but
they would have been known be quite a few people and, since she did not have
the file to check more "intimate" details, she was providing me information
without really checking who I was.

Sadly, if you were adopted/had a child adopted before 1975, it seems that
just about anyone can read what's on it - except for the adopted person and
the original mother!

As a natural mother (don't ever use that "b" word!), I was prohibited from
reading remarks made about my father (not the father of my child)who died 6
years ago, yet the derogatory comments made about my mother by one social
worker at the time were allowed to remain! I have now had to get a
solicitor to write to the social services dept in question in order for them
to release the information about a dead man!

Seems to me that things haven't changed that much - Barnado's, social
services, social workers ... they are all still playing God with other
people's lives.

So, I agree with you - Beware!

ABW


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[Robin Harritt]

Post by A B Westwood
Whilst I was searching for an adoption file I was told that it was now with
Barnado's. It turned out that Barnado's had only a few cards & 1 letter and
that the file had been sent on to the social services dept on a local
authority for safekeeping (something to do with the adoption society used at
the time). I have to say that the lady who answered my call at Barnado's
couldn't have been more helpful in trying to assist me BUT ... how did she
know I was who I said I was? I did give her some pertinent details, but
they would have been known be quite a few people and, since she did not have
the file to check more "intimate" details, she was providing me information
without really checking who I was.

Barnardos is always more helpful with records of other defunct adoption
societies than it is with records of adoptions it arranged. Can't ruin its
reputation or get sued as result of allowing access to some other agency's
cock-ups, particularly when that agency no longer exists. That's why Barnardo's
are so much better at that kind of work in Scotland & NI where it's
post-adoption projects mostly deal with other agency's adoptions.

Post by A B Westwood
Sadly, if you were adopted/had a child adopted before 1975, it seems that
just about anyone can read what's on it - except for the adopted person and
the original mother!

Particularly if Barnardo's pack them in ridiculously thin envelope that fall
apart in the post so that they end up in your local sorting office where
everyone knows you in a see-through plastic bag. Still at least that lot got
here, there's another floating about somewhere presumably because Barnardo's
principle solicitors couldn't manage to address them to my solicitors properly.

Post by A B Westwood
As a natural mother (don't ever use that "b" word!), I was prohibited from
reading remarks made about my father (not the father of my child)who died 6
years ago,

You relative has to have been dead for at least a 100 years before Barnardos
will allow access even then if there might be a closer relative somewhere you
have to have their permission.

Post by A B Westwood
yet the derogatory comments made about my mother by one social
worker at the time were allowed to remain! I have now had to get a
solicitor to write to the social services dept in question in order for them
to release the information about a dead man!
Seems to me that things haven't changed that much - Barnado's, social
services, social workers ... they are all still playing God with other
people's lives.

Indubitably.


Robin Harritt.