XN000022-1997-03-05 — Page 51

- 30 -

The eligibility criteria for an adoption applicant set out in the Adoption Ordinance are the residency and minimum age requirement. The latter is set at 25 or, if the applicant is the relative of the child, 21. There is no other statutory requirement for an adoption applicant in respect of maximum age and marital status.

In the past, prospective applicants who were single or divorced or aged above 45, would not normally be encouraged to submit applications. In the light of the development in relation to the Bill of Rights Ordinance, SWD reviewed its practice in carly 1996. All eligible applicants are now given an equal opportunity for a full assessment on their suitability as adoptive parents.

In adoption, the primary concern is to find a suitable home for the child and not a suitable child for an adoption applicant. The child's best interest is always of paramount importance.

Applicants are subject to a rigorous assessment and supervision process. They are required to provide detailed information on their personal circumstances to SWD. This is followed by a thorough investigation whereby the social worker of SWD visits and interviews the applicant as well as his/her family and nominated referees. The applicant's personality, coping ability, early life experience, interests and integration in the community, marital stability, parenting attitudes and capacities, adoption motivation are all taken into consideration in the assessment on an applicant's suitability.

Should the applicant be assessed to be a suitable adoptive parent for a child, the child will be placed into the applicant's home for a trial period of at least six months under close supervision of a social worker. If both the child and the applicant adapt to each other well and the applicant has proven his/her parenting capacity, the social worker will prepare a report to the Court to outline the circumstances of the adoption application and to make a recommendation based on his or her best professional judgement on whether an Adoption Order should be granted to the applicant. Every such application is carefully examined by the Court to ensure that the adoption is in the best interest of the child before an Adoption Order is granted.

End