The shortfall in British adoptions
The cost-of-living crisis has hurt children and prospective parents
If “Oliver Twist” were written today, it would be different in many ways. One of them might be the ending. In Charles Dickens’s novel, Oliver is adopted by Mr Brownlow, a benefactor, without any trouble. Today Mr Brownlow would go through a fine-grained background check. His mansion would be inspected for safety and he’d be strongly advised to volunteer with children. If he liked a pipe after dinner, he could end up being rejected for smoking.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Match postponed”
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