Special_guardianship
Adoption and Children Act 2002
UK legislation governing adoption and other family-related matters
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 is a law that allows unmarried or married people and same-sex couples in England and Wales to adopt children. The reforms introduced in the Act were based on a comprehensive review of adoption and were described by The Guardian as "the most radical overhaul of adoption legislation for almost 30 years".[1]
The Act also allows for the introduction of special guardianship, a legal status that allows for a child to be cared for by a person with rights similar to a traditional legal guardian, but without a requirement for absolute legal separation from the child's birth parents.[2][3] Special guardianship provisions were passed into law by statutory instrument in 2005 and came into force in 2006.[4]
The Act also introduced a procedure to allow people to trace relatives placed for adoption through an intermediary if both persons are over 18.
An equivalent Act was passed in Scotland in 2007.[5][6]