SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN [ S.L. 582.01 SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 582.01 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN REGULATIONS 24th December, 2018 LEGAL NOTICE 445 of
- The title of these regulations is the Social Regulatory Standards on Adoption of Children Regulations. Citation.
- 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. Scope.
- requires: Interpretation. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise ''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; Cap.
- ''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; Cap.
- Cap.
- Cap.
- Cap.
- 1 2 Cap.
- Cap.
- Cap.
- Cap.
- [ S.L. 582.01 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON 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; Cap. 495. ''Court'' as defined by the Adoption Administration Act means the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section); Cap. 495. ''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: Cap. 16. Cap. 495. (
- 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; Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 16. ''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 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN [ S.L. 582.01 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. Cap. 495. Cap. 468. 3 4 [ S.L. 582.01 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN SCHEDULE (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. 4. 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 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN [ S.L. 582.01 interests. 4. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency matches children with prospective adoptive parents using a rigorous and transparent published procedure. 5. For intercountry adoptions, the Accredited Agency supports and gives advice to prospective adoptive parents throughout the matching process. 6. For local adoptions, the Accredited Agency supports prospective adoptive parents when the children start living with them. 7. 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. 5 6 [ S.L. 582.01 SOCIAL REGULATORY STANDARDS ON ADOPTION OF CHILDREN 2. The Accredited Agency implements transparent recruitment strategies and plans for the continuous development of its staff.