What the wording means The proposed “period of time” referred to
is three years. This figure is contained in proposed new
adoption legislation, which was published by the Government
recently. Parents must have failed for a continuous period of
not less than 36 months and have no reasonable prospect of
resuming care of the child. The child to be adopted must have
spent at least 18 months in the care of those applying to adopt
them. An existing, difficult-to-prove requirement to demonstrate
that the child will be totally abandoned until he or she is 18
will no longer apply. A small section of the Constitution will
be deleted if the childrens rights referendum is passed. Article
42.5 can be found at the end of the section relating to
education. This article, along with existing childcare
legislation, gives the State limited power to remove children
from their families in some cases. The threshold for
intervention will be lowered if voters accept the proposed
amendment. The phrases exceptional circumstances and n