The family division of the Royal Court made the order after hearing about the case of Blake – not his real name – who was given by his mother to his maternal aunt and her partner at a young age.
According to a recently published judgment, Blake’s birth mother suffers from depression due to a traumatic childhood when she was exposed to alcohol from a very young age, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Psychologist Melanie Gill told the court that due to the mother’s deeply ingrained depression she could not care for the child and could not put his interests above her own. The court also heard that the man believed to be Blake’s father did not want anything to do with him.
Meanwhile, the boy’s guardian said Blake was ‘thriving and happy’ in the care of his aunt and uncle who ‘love him enormously’ and said he should remain permanently with them.
‘The child had been abandoned by his mother, whose deep seated psychological issues militated against any prospect of change on her part within his timescales,’ the judgment said.
‘Fortunately, he had found a home with the aunt and her partner, who were clearly devoted to him and who had been approved as his adopters and matched.’
The court committed the child into the care of the Health Minister and ordered that the child be declared free for adoption.
Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith was sitting with Jurats Anthony Olsen and Robert Christensen.
