Foster dad tells of 'bureacratic' pain from adoption bid

A father has criticized the Social Welfare Department for "being too bureaucratic" after he was forced to give up his foster baby, who had been living with him for 17 months, once he applied for adoption.

"Matthew" told The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily that he and his wife had been caring for baby "X," who was put up for adoption by his birth parents, since around August 2020.

Due to the pandemic and complex procedures, X had stayed with Matthew's foster family for 17 months - three times longer than the standard foster care duration of four to six months.

Given X had reached one year old and began to recognize faces, Matthew filed a request to the department to adopt X, but it rejected his application and said it would terminate the foster care if the adoption application is filed.

The department later informed Matthew that X will be transferred to another foster family tomorrow.

"Not even once did I wish for X to experience a change in family, let alone twice," Matthew said after sending letters to the SWD to complain about its decision.

Matthew criticized the department for not placing X's best interests first as he feared a change in foster family at this stage would hinder the baby's development.

He added that no existing law prohibits direct adoption by foster parents. According to the Adoption Ordinance, special consideration can be granted with the permission of the director of SWD, the court or other recognized organizations.

"I don't understand. Although the authority has been doing it this way, it may not be beneficial to the children," Matthew said. He said the current policy was "unreasonable" and called for a more flexible solution.

The SWD said foster families are not allowed to adopt children directly and can only file for adoption after giving up their status as foster parents. This is meant to prevent foster families from comparing and choosing children for adoption.

The adoption procedures are based on a scoring system and applicants with the highest score get to adopt the child. Two meetings are held each month to decide on adoption applications.

New People's Party lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan said she called social welfare director Gordon Leung Chun-tai last week to seek a more "humane solution" to the case.

Yung said the procedures should make the children's interest a priority.

Yung said she will file an urgent question in the Legislative Council at the end of this month for the SWD to explain the current adoption procedures.

bowie.tse@singtaonewscorp.com