SA Court approves the first adoption of children in state care in a decade

Foster parents Margaret and Craig always loved little Holly and Havana as their own. This week a court made it official.

Baby Havana was just 18 hours old when she joined her forever family.

Her older sister Holly had been removed from their biological mother’s care at 10 months old and placed with foster carers Margaret and Craig.

When the couple received a phone call that Holly’s mum was having another baby there was “no question” they were ready to welcome her newborn sibling Havana into the family.

Almost four years later, the girls – now aged six and three – this week became the first children to be adopted from state care in South Australia in about a decade.

“We wanted that because they’re just ours, in our mind they’re just our babies,” said adoptive mum Margaret, whose surname has been withheld for privacy reasons.

“From the day (Holly) was put in my arms I knew I was going to protect this child with my life. It was like I’d just given birth to a 10-month-old.

“Two years later we got a phone call saying (their) mum’s having another baby, are you interested in taking her too? It was not even a question.”

Each year more than 100 infants are removed from their parents at birth by child protection authorities and 1500 concerns are flagged about pregnant women and their unborn babies.

About 4000 kids in South Australia live with foster parents or extended family and the vast majority are on court orders to remain there until they turn 18.

Margaret and her husband Craig are delighted to welcome Holly, 6, and Havana, 3 as their adopted daughters. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Adoption is possible for those children but has been extremely rare and requires the consent of a child’s biological parents.

In Holly and Havana’s case, their birth mother gave permission.

“I take my hat off to her because this process for her wouldn’t have been easy,” Margaret, 46, said.

“I can’t even begin to imagine, as a mum, going through this but she’s so very supportive of it. She’s happy that they’re with us.”

While Margaret would not go into detail about the reasons the girls were taken into care, she said their mother “didn’t have the education that showed her how to be a parent”.

“I would never blame her. Her lifestyle is just not one that allows her to look after children.”

The girls’ birth mother does not have access visits with her daughters but Margaret and Craig, 47, send her photos and updates and the girls have contact with extended family, including young cousins.

They also have a strong bond with Margaret and Craig’s two adult sons and daughter, who are all in their 20s.

The couple, who live in country SA, had always hoped to adopt the girls when they turned 18, but were able to fast-track the process when they were chosen as part of a trial involving three families which began in October last year.

Former minister for child protection Rachel Sanderson. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

SA Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier.

Former Liberal child protection minister Rachel Sanderson had pushed for changes to the Children and Young People Safety Act to make it easier to adopt children on a long-term care order.

But her amendments did not pass parliament before the government changed hands at the March state election.

Ms Sanderson said she was lobbying the Liberals to reintroduce the changes.

“A lot of people just won’t give consent, even though they have no contact with the child ... (and) a court has determined already that there is no likelihood of that child ever returning to their biological family,” she said.

Labor Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said a review of the Act would begin soon but did not commit to changing adoption provisions.

In Opposition Ms Hildyard raised concerns that Ms Sanderson’s Bill “could diminish a child’s right to have their say” about an adoption.

Current Opposition spokesman Josh Teague said the Liberals would “carefully consider changes to legislation at a joint party meeting in due course”.

Margaret said she believed that changes to adoption laws could encourage more people to consider foster care.

“There’s just not enough foster parents. I have had so many people say to me ‘How do you do that, I couldn’t give them up’,” she said.

“There was that fear to start with. My biggest fear was what if something happened to us. I was so worried about (Holly and Havana) having to go somewhere else.”