Website helps adopted children research birth parents

Adopted and fostered children in Liverpool can research their past and find out about their birth parents on a website developed by the city council.

Children using the Lifecard website, said to be the first of its kind in the world, can watch video clips from their birth parents, social workers, teachers and people who knew them as babies.

They will be able to find pictures of themselves as babies, their own vaccination records and family tree. There is also an interactive diary page.

There is a special section that adopted or fostered young people can only access once they are 18. This is for children whose parents do not want them to learn their identity until they reach maturity.

The site includes case studies of research compiled by adopted and fostered children, a discussion forum, news and links to adoption and fostering agencies.

A video clip also explains why children are fostered and adopted, and how adoption proceedings work in the family court.

The site is accessed via a pocket sized CD-Rom. Security is tight and access is only permitted by using a password and security code, similar to that used on a bank or credit card website.

One of Lifecard's main benefits is that it provides children with a permanent record of their family history.

Dr Jeremy Chowings, executive member for health and social care at Liverpool city council, said that previously most life stories were kept in scrapbooks, which were often lost or destroyed.

He added: "We know that sometimes youngsters are angry at birth parents. They may have been through very difficult times and will destroy the scrapbook or photos themselves.

"They can come back to this [website] time and time again and know it's always going to be there."

Anne Reid, 21, from Runcorn, Cheshire, who was fostered at the age of three, believes Lifecard will make a huge difference for children.

She said: "There is so much that people want to know your childhood is part of who you are.

"To have something like this, with all this information safely stored until you want to get hold of it, is invaluable."