Early this summer, British Columbia's legislature passed a new Adoption Act which, if proclaimed as expected, will soon replace adoption legislation that dates back to 1957. "This [new] legislation," said Social Services Minister Joy MacPhail in a June 21st news release, "responds to long-standing public demands to replace a 38-year-old act [which] no longer reflects society's view of the complex relationships among children, birth mothers and fathers, adoptive parents, and extended families. The members of this wider adoption circle require better protection, more options, and greater access to information."

Passed by a vote of 50 to 6, Bill 51 attempts to protect, inform, and help members of the adoption circle in a variety of ways. First and foremost, the act seeks to give "paramount consideration in every respect to the child's best interests" [§2]. The act identifies several components of best interest determinations, and many provisions list the child's best interest, and even a child's consent, as a determining factor in key aspects of the adoption process. In addition, the law attempts to better serve birth parents and adoptive parents by requiring pre-placement counseling, outlawing placements made through unlicensed or for-profit entities, and allowing open adoption agreements.

According to the Toronto-based Adoption Helper newsletter, many members of British Columbia's adoption community believe Bill 51 positively addresses important issues that adoption triad members encounter throughout their lives. Other Canadian and U.S. advocates are looking at the legislation as a possible model for progressive change elsewhere. Below is a summary of key provisions that supporters say will substantially improve British Columbia's existing adoption law.

Private Adoption

The new law clearly states that only a birth parent or guardian, the Superintendent of Family and Child Service, and nonprofit, licensed adoption agencies can legally place a child for adoption. Adoption agencies must also provide services - such as informing birth parents about adoption and adoption alternatives, gathering and providing (to adoptive parents) information about birth parents' social and medical history, and obtaining necessary consents - before placing a child for adoption with "prospective adoptive parents who have been approved on the basis of a homestudy" [§6.2].

As explained in the Ministry of Social Services' summary of the new act, this provision accomplishes two important objectives. First, it protects children against placement in homes that have not been properly studied or prepared for adoption. Second, it should help prevent financial exploitation of prospective adoptive parents who desperately want a child, and ensure that birth parents are not pressured into agreeing to an adoption without understanding their options and rights.

Eligibility to Adopt

In a potentially controversial move, the new law would remove barriers against common-law couples and other couples who jointly apply to adopt a child. Adoption will officially be open to "one adult or 2 adults jointly" who are residents of British Columbia [§5]. The Ministry reminds potential parents, however, that the freedom to apply for adoption does not necessarily ensure approval. Birth mothers who select adoptive parents for their child typically favor "traditional" families, and the mandatory pre-adoption screening process may also eliminate some applicants. Ultimately, British Columbia's Supreme Court has final authority to grant or refuse an adoption order on the basis of the child's best interest.

Consent to Adoption

Both a child's birth mother and father (regardless of age) must consent to an adoption. Birth mothers cannot consent before a child is 10 days old, and may revoke consent up to 30 days after the child's birth, even if the child has been placed for adoption during that time. As mentioned above, the new law also requires that birth mothers receive information about adoption and its alternatives before agreeing to place their child.

For fathers, the act establishes a "birth fathers' registry" [§10]. Fathers who record their name and address on the new registry are entitled to receive notice of any proposed adoption. Placing agencies are also obligated to "make reasonable efforts" to obtain fathers' consents as required under the law [§6.1(f)]. The act, however, provides broad judicial discretion for dispensing with paternal consents if the court decides that circumstances warrant or the child's best interest would be served by such an action.

Children, under the 1995 act, have a voice in adoption proceedings as well. Courts and placing entities must consider the views of children aged 7 to 11, and must obtain consent to an adoption from children ages 12 and older. While a court may dispense with a child's consent if the child is "not capable of giving an informed consent" [§17.2], the overall requirement gives children a measure of control that is markedly absent in most adoption proceedings.

Open Adoption Agreements

The 1995 act explicitly allows for open adoption agreements between prospective adoptive parents and birth parents, other birth relatives, or any other important person in the child's life. Agreements can involve ongoing exchanges of information or a schedule of visits between birth and adoptive families, and may include a process for resolving disputes. Before an agreement is made, parties must consider the child's views if he or she "is of sufficient maturity" [§59.3].

The act also allows for post-adoption open adoption agreements - for newly adoptive parents, parents who did not have the option under the 1957 act, and those who wish to increase the level of openness orig-inally agreed upon. If both an adoptive parent and a birth relative of the child indicate to the superintendent that they are interested in making an agreement, the superintendent may even assist them in reaching the agreement or exchanging information. Adoptive parents also have the option of making open adoption agreements with adoptive parents of their child(ren)'s sibling(s).

Information Access

While the act is clearly receptive to adoptees' and others' desire for information, it also establishes safeguards for those who want to protect confidentiality. Once adoptees reach age 19, they may apply to the Director of Vital Statistics for a copy of their original birth registration and their adoption order. Birth parents of adoptees aged 19 or older may also apply for a copy of the adoption order, the birth registration that was substituted for the adoptee's original birth registration, and the original birth registration with a notation of the adoption and any consequential name change. Parties who successfully obtain identifying information under the act may seek search and reunion assistance from the superintendent as specified in §71.

To prevent the release of identifying information and protect individuals from unwanted contact, birth parents and adoptees (age 18 and over) may file either a disclosure veto or a no-contact declaration: Written disclosure vetoes prohibit the Director of Vital Statistics from disclosing any identifying information. The person who files the veto can, however, also file a written statement concerning his/her reasons for desiring privacy along with relevant non-identifying information that might be of use or interest to the other party. The filing party can cancel the veto at any time; vetoes automatically expire two years after the filer's death.

No-contact declarations prevent the person named in the declaration from receiving identifying information unless he or she agrees in writing not to contact the person who filed the declaration, get someone else to contact the person, or use the identifying information to harass or intimidate the person. The penalty for violating such an agreement includes a substantial fine and/or imprisonment.

Consultation with Aboriginal Communities

For adoptions that involve an aboriginal child, the placing agency must - with the parent's or older child's consent - make efforts to discuss the child's placement with a designated representative of the child's Indian band or aboriginal community. Adoption orders do not affect the child's aboriginal rights, and courts can recognize adoptions carried out under the custom of an aboriginal community or Indian band as they would adoptions carried out under the act.

Disclosure terms for underage adoptees, aboriginal and other, rely on a best interests determination. For aboriginal children under age 19, the superintendent or adoption agency may disclose information about the child's community or band to the adoptive parents. The superintendent may also disclose identifying information so that the child can be contacted by a designated representative of his/her Indian band or aboriginal community.

International Adoption

International adoptions will conform with terms and conditions of the 1993 Hague Convention (once it comes into force in British Columbia), and will also meet provincial standards. The convention and the act, in the interest of protecting children, will enforce homestudy requirements and make concerted efforts to record medical, family, and other background information that may be of use to international children as they grow up in Canada.

Final Steps

Contacts at the Ministry of Social Services estimate that, if all goes well during the upcoming months, British Columbia's prime minister will officially proclaim Bill 51 by sometime next summer. In the meantime, regulations must be written, and the Ministry has committed itself to an intensive national education campaign to ensure that adult adoptees and their birth parents are well-informed about the new access to information initiatives. The advance notice will allow affected individuals to file disclosure vetoes or no-contact declarations by the time the law goes into effect. The birth records of an estimated 50,000 children could be made available to adoptees and birth parents if vetoes are not filed.

Officials also expect that implementation of information access rules and other new provisions should run smoothly. The province spent several years consulting with various members of the adoption community, and achieved fairly unified support before sending the new bill to legislators. Bill 51 clearly provides progressive rules for issues such as open adoptions and information disclosure, but also tightens regulations on private adoptions and affords other important protections for birth parents, adoptive parents, and children. Most importantly, the act wisely recognizes that, of all the players in the adoption process, children deserve the utmost attention and consideration. As Brad Watson, executive director of British Columbia's Society of Special Needs Adoptive Parents, said recently, this "very progressive piece of legislation clearly shows that the government is committed to correcting problems in adoption."

For more information about or a copy of Bill 51, contact the Communications Division of British Columbia's Ministry of Social Services: 604-387-6490.

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