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| The following professions fall under The Exceptions Order in The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions order) 1975. Schedule 1, Articles 2(3), 3 and 4. |
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Excepted professions, offices, employments, work and occupations:
• Fostering
Foster carers share the responsibility for the child with a local authority and the child's parents.
Fostering is usually a temporary arrangement but, sometimes, foster care may be the plan until the child grows up. This long term or "permanent" fostering cannot provide the same legal security as adoption for either the child or the foster family, but it may be the right plan for some children.
• Adoption
A court will make an adoption order after the child has lived with the adopters for at least 13 weeks. This period does not start until the child is six weeks old, so no order is ever made before a child is 19 weeks old.
The court appoints a Reporting Officer, who checks that the birth parents understand what adoption is about and witnesses their agreement to the adoption order being made.
If the birth parents do not agree to adoption the court can still often make an adoption order but this takes longer. A Children's Guardian (in England and Wales) or acurator ad litem (in Scotland) will be appointed to look into the situation and advise on whether an adoption order should be made.
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Click on the link to view details of each Act or Order:
Protection of Children Act 1999
Applies to the UK
This Act created a system for identifying people unsuitable to working with children and introduced the checking of criminal records of people who want to work with children or young people.
Children Act 2004
(England and Wales)
The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Adoption Act 1976
Applies to England and Wales
Children Act 2004
(England and Wales)
Applies to England and Wales
The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Adoption Act 1976
Applies to England and Wales
European Convention on the Adoption of Children 1967
The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Applies to Northern Ireland.
This Order strengthens the existing arrangements under which checks must be carried out on people wishing to work with children or vulnerable adults.
Adoption and Children Act 2002
Applies to England and Wales, although some sections apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This Act reformed adoption law and supported the Government's plans to encourage greater use of adoption, improve the performance of adoption services, and put children at the centre of the adoption process.
The act is not yet fully in force - some parts won't be implemented until September 2005.
See summaries of the act, implementation timetables, details of BAAF's work on the act and the full text at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020038.htm
Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act is intended to improve the life chances of young people leaving the care of Health and Social Services Trusts by introducing duties to offer them care and support until the age of twenty-one.
Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act (Northern Ireland) 2001
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act amends the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 and enables the ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Children's Commissioner for Wales Act 2001
Applies to Wales
Sets out the functions for the office of the Children's Commissioner that was originally established under the Care Standards Act 2000.
Family Law Act (Northern Ireland) 2001
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act changed the law to give parental responsibility to fathers of children jointly registered after 15th April 2002.
Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001
Applies to Scotland
This Act introduces structures for the regulation of care services in Scotland, including registration and inspection.
A list of subordinate legislation made since this Act was passed can be found at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/about/HD/CCD1/00017652/carepublications.aspx
Care Standards Act 2000
Applies to England and Wales
This Act establishes regulatory bodies for social care in England and Wales, and provisions for registration and standards in social care work and training.
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
Applies to England and Wales
This Act amends the Children Act 1989 and places duties on local authorities to assess and meet the needs of young people leaving care.
Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
This Act amended the Adoption Act 1976 and the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 in respect of intercountry adoption and enabled the UK to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Family Law Act 1996
Applies to England and Wales
This Act identifies the need to consider the welfare of children in cases of divorce and separation.
Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Order in Council defines parental responsibility and rights, makes the welfare of the child paramount and imposes duties on Health and Social Services Boards and Health and Social Services trusts towards looked after children and children in need.
Children (Scotland) Act 1995
This Act defines parental responsibility and rights, and sets out the duties on local authorities to promote the welfare of children.
A brief guide to the Act www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents4/sc-ch-00.htm?1;documents/sc-00.htm
The full Act is available at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/Ukpga_19950036_en_1.htm
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption 1993
Applies to the UK
Children Act 1989
Applies to England and Wales; some sections affect Northern Ireland and Scotland.
A summary of the main provisions can be read at www.childpolicy.org.uk/dir/index.cfm?ccs=577&cs=439
A Department of Health publication from 2001 provides a summary of 24 studies evaluating the implementation of the Children Act 1989, The Children Act Now: Messages from Research, can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/05/86/68/04058668.pdf
The Children Act Report 2002 presents the latest information about the work councils do to safeguard children and promote their welfare, and is available at www.dfes.gov.uk/childrenactreport/
The full Act is available online at www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga_19890041_en_1.htm
Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987
Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984
Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978
Applies to Scotland
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