Admin 
Sanwo-Olu
The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans to fully automate its child adoption process to enhance transparency, streamline service delivery, and safeguard the best interests of vulnerable children.
The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr. Mobolaji Ogunlende, made the announcement on Tuesday in Lagos during a Stakeholders’ Meeting on Adoption, Fostering and Guardianship Matters, themed “Automation of the Child Adoption Process in Lagos State.”
Ogunlende explained that the digital transformation marks a major policy shift aimed at modernizing adoption administration through online application tracking, proper record storage, and systematic 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 emphasised, however, that technology would not replace human compassion, professional judgment, or legal safeguards, assuring stakeholders that sensitive records and children’s identities would remain strictly protected.
Echoing his views, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, noted that the platform will eliminate administrative bottlenecks, improve record management, and ensure adoption requests are processed promptly and accountably.
Highlighting key operational changes, Dr. Modupeola Sahid-Adebambo, Director of the Adoption Services Department, disclosed that the new portal will issue prospective parents a unique identification number to track applications and prevent duplicate approvals.
“They are now restricted to one child per approval,” Sahid-Adebambo revealed, adding that the system prevents applicants from using a single approval to reserve children across multiple orphanages. Under the new protocol, care homes will digitally notify the ministry the moment a child is identified, ensuring no single child is matched to multiple families simultaneously.
Developing the software is tech firm Identiko Integrated Solutions Ltd. Its Business Development Lead, Mr. Bamikole Ajayi, explained that the platform will capture a child’s complete journey from initial intake at an orphanage to court documentation and eventual placement creating an end-to-end digital lifecycle record.
In goodwill messages, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, and the Head of the Family Court, Justice Adedayo Oyebanji, both represented by Chief Magistrate (Administration) Adejumoke Olagbegi commended the initiative. They noted that the automated framework will grant the judiciary real-time visibility into children residing in care institutions, accelerating legal proceedings while upholding child welfare standards. (NAN)
