By CATHERINE EGWUOM

The Lagos State Government says automation of its child adoption process will strengthen accountability, improve service delivery and safeguard children’s best interests.

The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr Mobolaji Ogunlende, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Meeting on Adoption, Fostering and Guardianship Matters held on Tuesday in Lagos.

The meeting has the theme: “Automation of the Child Adoption Process in Lagos State.”

Ogunlede said the initiative would modernise adoption administration through proper documentation, application tracking, accessible records and effective monitoring of cases.

“The automation of the child adoption process in Lagos State is more than a technological intervention. It represents an important shift in how we administer, regulate and deliver adoption services,” Ogunlende said.

He said the system would strengthen institutional accountability, identify administrative bottlenecks and ensure responsibilities were properly discharged.

“Digitalisation must never become a substitute for professional judgement, human compassion or the legal safeguards that govern child adoption,” he said.

Ogunlende stressed the need to protect sensitive adoption records, children’s identities and personal information against unauthorised access and misuse.

He urged stakeholders to contribute to developing a secure, accessible and sustainable system that would ensure children’s best interests remained paramount.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, said the meeting aimed to advance discussions on automating Lagos State’s child adoption process.

She said the initiative would modernise adoption services, making the process more efficient, accessible, transparent and accountable while addressing administrative delays and improving record management.

“Through automation, we envisage a system that will provide a more structured approach to the management of adoption applications, documentation, assessments, approvals and other relevant stages of the process,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

She said that the system would enable the ministry to maintain accurate records, monitor applications and ensure cases were handled promptly and in a coordinated manner.

“Technology must support our processes without compromising the safety, dignity and best interests of the child,” she said.

She urged stakeholders to contribute actively to the proposed framework, stressing the need to protect children’s identities, maintain confidentiality of records and comply with existing legal provisions.

Speaking on the automation of Lagos State’s child adoption process, Dr Modupeola Sahid-Adebambo, Director, Adoption Services Department, said it would improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in adoption services.

“With the introduction of automation, a lot of the processes can now be done online, which will make it a lot easier for applicants,” she said.

She said each applicant would receive a unique identification number to track applications, identify previous adoption records and prevent duplication.

“They are now restricted to one child per approval,” Sahid-Adebambo said, explaining that the system would prevent applicants from using the same approval to identify multiple children from different orphanages.

She said orphanages would be required to notify the ministry digitally when an applicant identified a child, preventing multiple families from being matched with the same child.

Sahid-Adebambo said the automation would complement existing child protection safeguards, including an application introduced to capture children’s data and monitor formal care homes.

She said applicants considered unprepared for adoption could be referred for further counselling or therapy, with input from orphanages and family courts.

She urged stakeholders to provide feedback to address implementation challenges, stressing that successful automation required collective participation and continuous improvement.

In a goodwill message, Justice Kazeem Alogba, Chief Judge of Lagos State, described the automation initiative as a welcome development.

Represented by Mrs Adejumoke Olagbegi, Chief Magistrate (Administration), Lagos State Judiciary, he said the initiative would help advance children’s best interests by ensuring timely adoption and providing accurate records of adoption cases.

“The automation will help us not only to serve the best interests of children on time, but also to have records of what has happened and where to go from there,” she said.

Similarly, Justice Adedayo Oyebanji, Head of Family Court,in a goodwill message, said the system would improve record-keeping and enable the judiciary to track children in care institutions and identify those awaiting adoption.

Oyebanji, also represented by Olagbegi,

Stressed the need for stronger collaboration among the judiciary, police, social workers and the Ministry of Youth and Social Development to protect children.

She said the initiative would also strengthen access to adoption records and improve service delivery through technology.

Also speaking, Mr Bamikole Ajayi, Business Development Lead, Identiko Integrated Solutions Ltd., said the initiative would support the ministry’s adoption process.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Identiko Integrated Solutions Ltd. Designed the child adoption automation application.

Ajayi said the system would capture the entire adoption process, including the child’s release, court decisions and relevant documentation.

He explained that although the child’s release was initiated on the system, the family court process had yet to be integrated.

He said reports and outcomes of court proceedings would be returned to the system and recorded for proper documentation.

“This will enable us to see the total life cycle or process of any particular child,” Ajayi said.

He said the system would provide details of each child’s age, orphanage and prospective adoptive family.

Ajayi said the application would make adoption records and relevant documentation accessible within one system.

The event featured interactive sessions among stakeholders, during which suggestions, recommendations, challenges facing the adoption process and possible solutions were discussed. (NAN)