This article considers the English Law relating to fostering and adoption in the light of Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. State foster care and domestic adoption are in principle means by which a child’s Article 6 can be secured where state intervention is necessary to protect the child. The article will nevertheless argue that recent judicial decisions relating to child protection prejudice the law’s ability, as implemented by local authorities, to secure Article 6 rights through foster care, but also that the UK Government’s preference for adoption for those children who are taken into care (reflected in recent legislation) might cause difficulties as regards the other requirements of the UNCRC, including the right to know and be cared for by one’s parents as far as possible.