INTERNET networking sites are throwing vulnerable families into emotional turmoil, with dozens of adopted children in North Yorkshire using them to trace and meet up with their birth parents.

North Yorkshire County Council said every week their social workers were receiving panicked phone calls from adoptive parents who had discovered their child had been having secret contact with birth relatives.

In the past, a reunion would not normally take place until a child was 18, and not without initial communication through a third party and a great deal of counselling.

But the council said by making it so easy to find people, websites like Facebook had blown apart all the carefully thought-out procedures adoption agencies and social services had in place.

One of the council’s adoption workers, Joan Hunt, said dealing with the shattering consequences had become a significant part of her work over the past two years.

She said: “We have had dozens of cases in North Yorkshire of children tracing their birth families through Facebook.

“We have had cases of the adopted child running away from the adopted family to the birth family. Age 14 to 15 seems to be the most vulnerable time.

“It obviously has big repercussions for everyone involved.

“What I find heartbreaking is that children are seeking out their birth family and meeting them with no support from those who are closest to them.”

Ms Hunt said birth parents and adopted children soon found themselves out of their depth, while adoptive parents were normally left feeling scared and vulnerable.

She said: “All adopted children are curious about their birth families, and if a child wants to track a birth parent down the chances are that sooner or later they will achieve this. “Going through this process in secret and alone can be emotional dynamite, so the best thing adoptive parents can do is to be open about their child’s past, recognise that their need to know is healthy and to support them through it to make wise choices.

“If adoptive parents are open with their children they are far more likely to include them in any searches.”

North Yorkshire County Council has led the way in calling for a review of procedures to cope with the new age of Facebook.

Last year, Adoption North Yorkshire ran a conference on contact, with a dedicated workshop on social networking, while Ms Hunt recently spoke at a national Facing Up to Facebook conference in London, attended by more than 100 social workers.


How search can go awry

BOSSES at the support agency After Adoption stressed the dangers of adopted children trying to trace their birth relatives through Facebook.

A spokeswoman said: “Young people especially may not understand the risks involved in using social networking to trace relatives, particularly where they have been adopted following care proceedings resulting from poor parenting, neglect or even abuse.

“They are unlikely to be prepared for the emotional complexities of the feelings involved with search and reunions. “They also may divulge identifying information about themselves or their families without considering the implications.”

She urged anybody wanting to trace a birth relative to seek support from an agency such as After Adoption, either through the charity’s action line on 0800 0568 578 or through its website, afteradoption.org.uk

Meanwhile, the British Association for Adoption and Fostering has produced a leaflet called Facing Up To Facebook to offer guidance to adoptive families.