Domestic adoption and long-term out-of-home placement as child protection measures: a comparative and normative research

This dissertation examines how and to what extent the government may intervene in family life to protect the child, with particular attention to situations where long-term out-of-home placement is necessary. I identify which measures can be imposed under Flemish youth care law, English law, and Dutch law when a long-term placement is indicated. In addition, I investigate whether adoption qualifies as a child protection measure sensu stricto within the Flemish youth care system. Although the Belgian legal system has considered adoption a child protection measure sensu lato since 1940, adoption does not (systematically) occur in situations where minors are in long-term out-of-home care. Domestic adoption and youth care in Flanders are treated as two separate trajectories with different objectives and methods. Nevertheless, a certain faction within the Flemish Parliament asked in 2018 whether simple adoption should be embedded in a youth care trajectory to provide stability and continuity for children placed out of home without any prospect of return. My research has a twofold aim: (1) to analyse the relationship between federal domestic adoption law and Flemish youth care law; and (2) to explore a possible expansion of the current options for long-term out-of-home placement. The dissertation consists of four parts. Part I focuses on which possible forms of long-term or permanent child protection measures comply with the relevant international and European human rights framework. Part II concerns the internal comparison between long-term out-of-home placement and the legal concept of adoption within Flanders (Belgium). Part III adopts a comparative perspective, shifting the focus to long-term placement and adoption in Dutch and English law. Finally, Part IV formulates recommendations for the Flemish legislator and the federal legislator based on the evaluation and findings of the internal (Part II) and external (Part III) comparative legal research. The dissertation concludes with five final reflections: 1. Integrating adoption into youth care and developing existing forms of youth care instruments with more far-reaching consequences for parental authority might appear at first different courses of action. This is because adoption and youth care are generally seen as serving opposite functions, the former being associated with permanence, and the latter with more temporary measures. However, this research finds that adoption and youth care converge in their pursuit of a balance between the child's need for stability and the preservation of ties with the birth family. This innovative interpretation allows for a legal design which brings the opposites closer, through a moderated form of adoption or a more far-reaching form of foster care. 2. It is advisable to adopt a pluralistic and complementary approach to parenthood in the context of youth care and adoption, where a person's direct involvement with the child forms the main point of connection. This is brought together under the concept of 'shared parenting'. 3. There is no 'one size fits all' solution to children placed out of home. It is important that the child protection system does not consist of standard measures systematically applied to every child without considering their specific situation and circumstances. The wishes and concrete interests of the placed children must always guide the procedure. 4. The complex web of judicial and institutional competences in adoption and long-term placement requires the involvement of all relevant legislators. In other words, strengthening or further developing long-term placement within Flemish youth care law or qualifying domestic adoption as an ultimum remedium within integrated youth care can only be achieved with both the Flemish and federal legislator on board. 5. There is a need for follow-up research from other disciplines, such as orthopedagogy, psychology, ethics, and sociology.