The Internet is here to stay. From its origins as an experimental US military project in the 1960s, this highly decentralised system of communication is today used by some 40 million people worldwide. Among them are a growing number of social care organisations, Neil Ballantyne explores its actual and potential uses in relation to child care issues, with specific reference to adoption and fostering. Currently leading the field in Britain is the National Institute for Social Work, which operates two electronic mailing lists as well as offering access to papers and other social work related sites. Attention is also focused on the many more sites in the USA. These incorporate — among other items — journals, advice for prospective adopters, legal services, campaigning information on attempts to change adoption law, and photolists of children waiting for adoption. Here the unregulated nature of the Internet is underlined, as is the commercial nature of adoption in North America which clearly raises concerns about the trade in children both in that country and across the globe.
Ballantyne ends by summing up both the advantages and some of the drawbacks for social workers of this particular development in new technology. He cautions that while celebrating the enormous potential of the Internet we should never allow electronic communication to replace human judgement.
