Adoption - vision statement: priorities and plan - summary version

3. How adoption has changed in Scotland

• Adoption in Scotland has changed over the years.
• In some adoptions during the 1950s-1970s, forced adoption took place. This meant that newborn babies were taken away from mothers who were not married.
• The babies were placed for adoption, even if the mothers or children did not want this to happen. We now call this ‘historic forced adoption.’
• Today we know this was wrong and we make sure it doesn’t happen again. In 2023, the former First Minister of Scotland (leader of the Scottish Government) gave a national apology to everyone affected by historic forced adoption.
• Today, we have the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. It says that decisions about adoption should always focus on what’s best for the child. It also says that children should have a say in what happens.
• This law says that the local authority has to support people with their adoption journey at different stages.
• The local authority is the council where you live. This support could be with your health, education or wellbeing needs.
• The needs of children, adults and adopters has changed over the years. This is important to remember if we are making any changes to adoption in the future.
• The Scottish Government is here to listen and learn from people involved in adoption.