3.2.6 Placements for Adoption

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was amended in August 2011 in terms of the National Minimum Standards for Fostering 2011, Standard 13. The changes in the chapter are highlighted for ease of reference.

Formal Approval of Adoption Plan for the Child
Preparation of Child for Adoption
Counselling of Parents
Child’s Adoption Medical
Post-adoption Contact
Identification of Adoptive Parents
Approval of Matching of Adoptive Parents
Planning the Placement
The Placement
Children Approved for Adoption for Whom no Placement has Been Identified
Adoptive Placements Abroad

1. Formal Approval of Adoption Plan for the Child

1.	When an adoption plan is being considered in relation to a Looked After Child either as the preferred Care Plan or the Contingency Plan, a Permanency Planning Meeting will take place. See Route Map for Looked After Children and Decision to Look After (Care and Permanency Planning) Procedure. A member of the adoption team will attend all initial Permanency Planning Meetings and, if a decision is made to refer the child for adoption, will provide the child’s social worker with a Referral Pack containing guidance notes and a Child’s Permanence Report. Time-scales for the completion of the referral should be agreed at the Planning Meeting;
2.	The decision to refer a child for adoption made at a Permanency Planning Meeting should be ratified at the child’s next Looked After Review;
3.	In relation to an unborn child or a child relinquished for adoption by the parents and not yet looked after, the initial agreement to an adoption plan must be given at a Planning Meeting. This will subsequently be confirmed in the child’s Care Plan, once the child becomes Looked After;
4.	The case will be allocated to an adoption worker at the next adoption allocation meeting, which will take place within one week of the Permanency Planning Meeting. The purpose of the allocation will be either to advise the child’s social worker and assist with information gathering during the planning process pending the start of family finding activity, or to initiate family finding immediately, where this is appropriate – see Section 8, Planning the Placement;
5.	Once the adoption plan becomes the final permanence plan, the child’s social worker must contact the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator for a date to be arranged for presentation of the case to the Adoption and Permanency Panel. The date for the Panel must be a maximum of 2 months from the date when the adoption plan was ratified at the child’s Looked After Review. Where this timescale is not met, the Adoption Panel should record the reason;
6.	The Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator will send an Adoption Checklist and Adoption Pack to the child’s social worker;
7.	The child’s social worker must open an Adoption Case Record for the child once adoption has been identified as the permanence plan for the child at his or her Looked After Review or, where a child has been relinquished for adoption, as soon as the parent's request for adoption has been made. Where the plan relates to a group of siblings, there must be a separate adoption case record for each child;
8.	The adoption case record will contain all relevant information, including health information, on the child and his or her parents, including copies of relevant information from the child’s case file;
9.	The child’s social worker should obtain 2 certified copies of the child’s full birth certificate. These will be required for future Court applications and for the prospective adopters;
10.	The child’s social worker should book an adoption medical for the child with the Medical Adviser;
11.	The child’s social worker should give both birth parents a copy of the memorandum “Information for Parents on Adoption” and ask them to sign confirmation of receipt, which should be kept on the child’s adoption case record. If either or both of the birth parents refuse to accept or do not receive the memorandum, this should be recorded, including the reasons, on the child’s case file and adoption case record;
12.	The child’s social worker must seek the birth parents’ consent to the disclosure of information on their medical history to facilitate the adoption medical for the child – for detailed procedures, see Section 4, Child’s Adoption Medical;
13.	The child’s social worker must discuss with the parents their views on the adoption plan, including future contact, and arrange the necessary counselling and support for both of the birth parents. For detailed procedure, see Section 3, Counselling of Parents. If either or both of the parents decline or refuse counselling, then this should be recorded, including the reasons, in the child’s file and adoption record;
14.	Where one or both of the birth parents cannot be found, the child’s social worker must make extensive enquiries as to their whereabouts. Legal advice should be sought about the need to place advertisements in the local and national press;
15.	The child’s social worker must contact the child’s health visitor or school health for current information in relation to the child’s health and development;
16.	The child’s social worker must contact the child’s school or the relevant local education authority for current information in relation to the child’s educational need;
17.	The child’s social worker must ask the child’s carer to complete a report on the child;
18.	The child’s social worker must ensure that the adoption plan addresses the issue of post adoption contact. This will include a possible meeting between the parents and the adopters, and whether there may be ongoing direct contact or indirect contact via a letterbox system. (See the leaflet on the borough’s Letterbox Scheme). Any proposals for post-adoption contact will take account of information already available and assessments already undertaken – see Section 5, Post-adoption Contact;
19.	If the child has siblings, the plan must analyse the relationship between each child in the sibling group and, if the decision is to place the siblings separately, address the issue of post-adoption contact between them;
20.	The child’s social worker must also carry out an assessment of the likely needs for adoption support services in relation to the child (including his or her eligibility for financial support), the birth parents and any other person with a significant relationship to the child. For the detailed procedures, see Adoption Support Services Procedure;
21.	The child’s social worker must complete the Child’s Permanence Report. The author of the report must be a qualified social worker with a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience of child care work, including direct experience of adoption work. Where the allocated worker does not meet the above requirements, he/she must be a qualified social worker or a social worker in training and be supervised by a social worker who does meet the requirements. Where the allocated worker is not employed by the borough, he/she must meet the requirements and be supervised by a practitioner who also meets the requirements. The following areas must be included or addressed in the Report: Profile of the child, based on a report from the child’s current carer as well as other information about the child’s personality, nationality, racial origin, religious persuasion, legal status and relationship with his/her birth family; The child's wishes in relation to the adoption plan and his or her preferred method of communication; A chronology of the child’s life since birth; The preparation work, undertaken and planned, with the child and; The views of the child in relation to the adoption plan and future contact with his or her birth family and their opportunity to receive and comment on the report before the report is presented to Adoption Panel; The views of the Children’s Guardian (where possible); The views of the birth family and significant others in relation to the adoption plan and contact; A report of the child’s educational history and current needs, including the Personal Education Plan (PEP); Any other relevant specialist reports on the child; An assessment of the child’s emotional and behavioural development; An assessment of the child’s needs for post-adoption contact, including with siblings, and the child’s and birth relatives’ needs for adoption support services; An analysis of the options for the child’s future care and the alternatives to adoption considered; Where the child has siblings, whether the decision is to place siblings separately or together and the rationale for the decision. A copy of the whole Report or the relevant sections should be provided to the parents and the child where appropriate. The Report must be presented to the Adoption and permanency Panel within 6 weeks of its completion;
22.	Presentation to the Adoption and Permanency Panel To enable the Adoption and Permanency Panel to consider whether the child should be placed for adoption, the child’s social worker must present the following reports: The Child’s Permanence Report (including the Medical Adviser’s comments), signed by the child’s social worker, the manager and the parent (if willing); The child’s health report and the health information contained in relation to the parents; Legal advice about parental consent and the option of seeking a Placement Order. Where the social worker is seeking a recommendation in relation to the proposed placement of the child with particular prospective adopters at the same time, the procedure set out in Section 7, Approval of Matching of Adoption Parents must also be followed. The child’s social worker will send the relevant reports to the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator 14 working days before the relevant date of the Adoption and Permanency Panel. The child’s social worker will attend the Adoption and Permanency Panel meeting during consideration of the matter. The Panel will consider the written reports and any additional information presented verbally. The Panel will make a recommendation to the Agency Adoption Decision Maker regarding the adoption plan. Where the Panel recommends that the child should be placed for adoption, it must also consider and may give advice on the future contact arrangements for the child and whether an application for a Placement Order should be made. The recommendation and advice will be recorded in writing, together with reasons, in the Panel’s minutes. A copy of the relevant minute must be held on the child’s adoption case record. The child’s social worker will convey the Panel’s recommendation orally to the child and the parents within 24 hours;
23.	After the Adoption and Permanency Panel After the Adoption and Permanency Panel has considered the report and made a written recommendation, the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator will send the relevant Panel minute, together with the reports considered by the Panel, to the Agency Adoption Decision Maker who will make a decision based on the Panel’s recommendation within 7 working days. The decision will be recorded in writing. Where the Agency Adoption Decision Maker is minded to disagree with the Panel recommendation, he/she must first discuss the case with another senior officer with the appropriate experience, who should not be a Panel member. This discussion must be recorded and placed on the child’s adoption case record. The Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator will advise the child’s social worker, who will convey the decision orally to the parents within 2 working days. The child’s social worker will send written notice of the decision to the parents within 5 working days. The method of delivery of the letter must be recorded. The child’s social worker should inform the child (depending on age and understanding) of the decision in a timescale appropriate to his/her needs;
24.	Where a decision has been made to seek a Placement Order in relation to the child, the child’s social worker should consult with Legal Services in order to prepare the Court application. See Court Reports in Adoption/Special Guardianship Guidance for guidance on the contents of the Court report;
25.	Where a decision is made to proceed on the basis of Parental Consent to the Placement, and the child is more than 6 weeks old, the child’s social worker must arrange for a written request to be sent to CAFCASS to appoint an officer to witness the consent. (If the child lives in Wales, the request must be sent to the National Assembly for Wales). The child’s social worker should send the following documents to the CAFCASS office closest to the parent’s address: A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate; The name and address of the parent; A chronology of the actions and decision made by the local authority; Confirmation that the parents have received counselling and written information on the legal implications of giving consent to the placement/adoption.
26.	On receipt of the parent’s consent witnessed by the CAFCASS officer, the original must be placed on the child’s adoption case record (as it will be required for the future adoption application).

2. Preparation of Child for Adoption

1.	The child’s social worker will ensure that Life Story Work with the child continues with the aim so far as possible that: The child has an understanding of the reasons for the adoption plan and what adoption will mean; The child has an opportunity to express his or her wishes and feelings about the future including his/her religious and cultural upbringing and contact with his/her birth family, and; The child has information on the child’s birth family, which is kept safe for them and provided to the adopters and the child at the appropriate time. As part of the above, the child will be given a Children's Guide to Adoption as soon as adoption is part of the child's Care Plan. Any information given to the child should be confirmed in writing and any discussions with the child should be fully recorded. The child's preferred method of communication should be known and there should be no assumption that a child is unable to communicate. An interpreter should be arranged as necessary to ensure that there is effective communication with the child. Where a child’s wishes are not acted upon, for example a child’s wish to be placed with his or her siblings, this should be explained to the child, with reasons, and should be fully recorded. See Life Story Books Guidance;
2.	The foster carers’ social worker will support the foster carers in playing their part in the preparation of the plan, including careful recording by the foster carers in the Daily Record of any changes in the child’s behaviour;
3.	Once an adoptive placement has been identified and approved, the child’s social worker is responsible for ensuring the child is properly prepared for the first meeting with the prospective adoptive family and is appropriately counselled during the period of introductions - see Section 8, Planning the Placement. As part of the preparation of the child for the adoptive placement, information will be provided to ensure that s/he has a proper understanding about the accommodation and others living at the prospective adoptive home, the contact arrangements with the birth family and how to contact his or her social worker;
4.	The child’s social worker will encourage the parents to write a ‘Later Life’ letter for the child, and to provide information to enable the social worker to write a ‘Later Life’ letter for the child (to give to the adopters) within 10 working days of adoption ceremony, i.e. the ceremony to celebrate the making of the adoption order.

3. Counselling of Parents

The child’s social worker must provide counselling to the child’s parents/guardians, including an explanation of the reasons for the adoption plan, the key stages of the adoption process, including the likely time-scales, and provide them with the memorandum, ‘Information for Parents on Adoption’. The purpose of the counselling is to ensure that the alternatives to adoption have been explored and the implications of adoption are fully discussed. If either or both of the birth parents refuse to accept or do not receive the memorandum, this should be recorded, including the reasons, on the child’s case file and adoption record;
The child’s social worker must also offer to arrange independent support for both birth parents (including unmarried fathers). In all cases, the parents must have the opportunity to have support from a social worker who is different from the child’s social worker and a referral to Jigsaw 4 U is required at this time;
The purpose of the independent support is to provide the opportunity to the parents to express their views in relation to the plans for the child and be involved in planning for the child’s future wherever possible;
The counselling and support may need to be undertaken by a specialist worker, for example where the parent has poor mental health or learning disabilities. If so, the social worker should ensure that an appropriate resource is identified;
The specific needs of parents arising from their ethnic minority groups must also be taken into account. An interpreter must be arranged where English is not their preferred language;
Both parents must be offered counselling and support irrespective of whether they have parental responsibility unless there are exceptional circumstances, in which case legal advice should be taken and the reasons for not arranging counselling recorded;
It may also be appropriate for members of the extended family to receive counselling and/or support, where they have played a significant role in the child’s life.
The counselling/support will cover the following areas:
1. Explaining the key stages of the adoption process and likely time-scales;
2. Explaining, where appropriate, the procedure for seeking a Placement Order;
3. Explaining the parents’ legal rights, including the right of the unmarried father to seek a Parental Responsibility Order or a Residence Order in relation to the child;
4. Explaining the role of the Adoption and Permanency Panel;
5. Explaining the role of CAFCASS and /or the Reporting Officer in witnessing parental consent and the role of the Children’s Guardian where parental consent is not given;
6. Explaining the way the Adoption Contact Register works and how an adopted adult may seek information about the birth family in the future or may register a wish not to be contacted;
7. Explaining how prospective adoptive parents are assessed;
8. Ascertaining the parents’ views on the adoption plan, including the selection of the adoptive family, any specific ethnic, cultural or religious needs of the child, and any plan to separate a sibling group. Their views on the adoptive family should be recorded;
9. Dealing with grief and loss;
10. Where the parents consent to the adoptive placement, explaining the process for witnessing their consent, their right to state that they do not wish to be informed of the adoption application and their right to withdraw their consent at any time up to the making of an adoption application, but the restricted rights to actively oppose an adoption application after that time;
11. Ascertaining the parents’ views on post-adoption contact including whether they would wish to meet the adoptive family and if so, how they might prepare for this;
12. Providing information to the parents on national and local support groups, and other possible sources of help;
13. Explaining how the parents may be able to provide information to be passed to adopters, for example, on the child’s birth and early life, which may be of benefit to the child.
The parents should be encouraged to seek legal advice particularly where they are opposed to the adoption plan. Where there is an unmarried father without parental responsibility, the social worker should ascertain if he intends to seek a Parental Responsibility Order or a Residence Order;
The parents and their solicitors, if appropriate, must be sent copies of any written consents and/or recording of their views;
Where the parents refuse or decline to accept counselling, the child’s social worker must record the attempts made to persuade the parents and the reasons for their refusal in the child’s file and adoption case record;
Where the parents are seeking to have an expected child adopted, the counselling must start before the baby’s birth. In addition, the child’s social worker must cover practical tasks such as the arrangements for the birth, the parents’ own contact with the child after the birth, the intended length of the mother’s hospital stay and their wishes regarding the timing of the placement.

After the child’s birth, the counselling and support must continue. The social worker should then confirm with the parents that they still wish to pursue adoption for the child. If the parents wish the child to be placed for adoption before he/she is 6 weeks old, a written agreement as to the placement can be entered pending the witnessing of consent by the CAFCASS officer;
The social worker should arrange for photographs to be taken of the child and, if they agree, the parents and other significant people and places, for inclusion in the child’s Life Story Book.

4. Child's Adoption Medical

As soon as the adoption plan becomes part of the child’s Care Plan, the child’s social worker should write to the Medical Adviser requesting an adoption medical for the child. The Medical Adviser will book a date in advance allowing time for the relevant Forms M and B (see below) to be completed and returned. The procedure needs to be started without delay; the adoption medical must take place before the child’s plan for adoption is considered at Adoption and Permanency Panel;
The child’s social worker must seek the cooperation of both birth parents to provide written consent to the disclosure of medical information by completing Form A, including obtaining their consent to the Medical Adviser approaching their GP if necessary, as well as obtaining their written consent on Forms M (Obstetric report on mother) and B (Neo-natal Report on Child);
A separate Form A should be completed in relation to each parent;
The completed Form A’s should be forwarded to the Adoption Panel Medical Adviser , with a covering memo;
The child’s social worker should send Forms M (Obstetric report on mother) and B (Neo-natal Report on Child) for completion by a doctor at the hospital where the child was born, with a request that they be completed and forwarded to the Medical Adviser, with a copy to be sent to the social worker;
The importance of the disclosure of medical information must be explained to the parents but where the parents refuse to sign consent forms, the social worker must record the attempts made to engage the parents and the reasons for refusal in the child’s file and adoption case record, and inform the Adoption Panel Medical Adviser of the position;
The child’s foster carer should attend the medical with the child and, if appropriate, the child’s social worker.

5. Post-adoption Contact

The child’s social worker must undertake a written assessment as to the best interests of the child to support any contact proposals as part of an adoption plan, or reasons why no contact is recommended. This assessment will take account of the views of the child, the parents, the foster carers and any other significant family members, as well as evidence of attachment and the quality of relationships, based on observations of contact and the child’s behaviour before, during and after contact.

Also see Permanence Planning Guidance;
Where there is a sibling group, each child must be assessed separately and together as a group;
The assessment should determine whether post-adoption contact between the child and the parents and/or siblings would be in the child’s best interests, and if so, what form it should take. The nature and frequency of contact will be influenced by the need to maintain attachments and /or long-term identity issues;
Post-adoption contact may take the following forms:
1. Adoptive parents providing non-identifying information about the child to the birth family through letter-box contact organised and maintained by the Education and Children's Services (one way indirect contact);
2. Adoptive parents and the birth family sharing non-identifying information about themselves through letter-box contact organised and maintained by the Education and Children's Services (two way indirect contact);
3. Direct letter box and/or telephone contact between the adoptive parents and the birth family;
4. Direct face-to-face contact between the child and the birth family, which may be organised and maintained by the Education and Children's Services, where such continuing support is appropriate.
Any proposed post-adoption contact should be in line with any Court Orders;
Where post-adoption contact is considered to be in the child’s interests, it should be part of the information shared with prospective adoptive parents during the matching process – see Section 6, Identification of Adoptive Parents and also part of the planning of the placement – see Section 8, Planning the Placement. Research shows that contact arrangements are more successful if made in consultation with adoptive parents;
The final contact proposals should take account of the wishes of the prospective adopters and any advice given by the Adoption and Permanency Panel.

6. Identification of Adoptive Parents

The overall time-scale for recommending the placement of a child with a particular prospective adoptive family is:

The proposed placement to be recommended by the Adoption and Permanency Panel within 6 months of the agency’s formal approval that the child should be placed for adoption;
Except where the child is less than six months of age, in which case the proposed placement to be recommended by the Adoption and Permanency Panel within 3 months of the agency’s formal approval that the child should be placed for adoption.

1.	Following a decision to refer a child for adoption at a Permanency Planning Meeting, the case will be allocated to an adoption worker at the next adoption team meeting, which will take place within one week of the Permanency Planning Meeting. The allocated worker will initiate family finding at the point where this is appropriate. In allocating the case, consideration will be given to the availability of suitable in-house approved prospective adopters, so as to avoid any possible conflict of interest for the allocated family finder;
2.	When it has been decided that specific family finding activity may commence, a planning meeting should take place in order to plan for the recruitment of a specific adoptive family. The allocated adoption worker, the child’s social worker and his or her manager will attend the meeting, which will be chaired by an Adoption and Permanency team manager;
3.	The purpose of the planning meeting is: To confirm that there are no possible placements within the child’s extended family network; To identify the child’s placement needs, including race, culture and religion; To establish a definition of the “ideal” adoptive family, based on the child’s identified placement needs; To identify any other information about the child which is needed in order to identify a suitable family; To agree on recruitment methods, giving consideration to the availability of in-house families, the opportunity of an inter-agency placement, and advertising for families not yet approved; To agree steps to secure agreement for funding an inter-agency placement if this becomes necessary; To consider who should undertake the preparation of he child, and to determine how the child may be involved in and express views about the process of finding a family; To discuss parental involvement in the placement process and parental consent to advertising; To consider the appropriateness of offering the birth family counselling from an adoption worker who will not necessarily be the allocated family finder; To establish whether or not the child’s current carer should be considered as a prospective permanent placement.; To agree time-scales for the family finding work.
4.	The first step in family finding is to consider whether there are any potentially suitable in-house families. In order to explore this possibility, the allocated family finder will prepare, in conjunction with the child’s carers, a brief profile of the child (containing information as to the child’s health, legal status, wishes and feelings, identity and attachment issues, contact arrangements, behaviour, personality, work carried out so far in preparation for adoption and likely need for future support);
5.	This will be considered at the next available adoption team meeting. The identification of any possible families will be based on a discussion of the child’s placement needs and the type of family sought as agreed at the Planning Meeting;
6.	The child’s profile will be sent to a list of in-house approved prospective adopters, as agreed at the adoption team meeting. The list may include all approved families as well as those currently going through the assessment process, or approved families only or a selected group of approved families. The workers for the families on the list will write to them, inviting them to consider the child and inform the worker within one week if they wish to be considered further;
7.	The family finder will then give a copy of the Child’s Permanence Report to the relevant worker for each interested family and the workers concerned will provide a copy of the relevant family’s Form F/Prospective Adopter’s Report to the family finder;
8.	The family finder will give further information by telephone to all families still expressing an interest. It may be at this point that issues emerge which indicate a family may not be a suitable match for a child, in which case this should be referred back to the relevant worker for further discussion with the family concerned;
9.	Within one week of the interested families confirming their wish to proceed, the family finder will meet the child’s social worker and a short list will be drawn up of the most suitable families;
10.	The family finder will inform the families not included on the short list, together with reasons;
11.	The relevant workers will visit the families on the short list, to give the family a sight of the Child’s Permanence Report and discuss, on the basis of this fuller information, whether the family still wish to pursue their interest;
12.	Ethnicity must not be placed above everything else when identifying potential adopters for children. It is unacceptable for a child to be denied adoptive parents solely on the grounds that the child and prospective adopter do not share the same racial or cultural background. If a prospective adopter can meet most of the child's needs, but for example, they do not share the child's racial or cultural background, the core issue is what qualities, experiences and attributes the prospective adopter can draw on and their level of understanding of the discrimination and racism the child may be confronted with when growing up;
13.	The family finder and the child’s social worker will then arrange a further visit to the interested families with the relevant worker, for the purpose of sharing information to enable the family and the workers to decide the appropriateness of proceeding further. Families will be asked to indicate a wish to proceed or not within 7 days of the visit;
14.	The family finder will then arrange a Matching Meeting, to be chaired by an Adoption and Permanency team manager and attended by the family finder, child’s social worker, his or her manager and the child’s current carer. The purpose of the meeting is to consider all short listed families who have indicated a wish to proceed, and decide which appears the most suitable to meet the child’s needs;
15.	The family finder will inform the selected family and the unsuccessful families of the decision, together with reasons, on the same day as the meeting. The relevant worker will offer follow up discussions as required;
16.	If there is no suitable in-house prospective adoptive family available, recruitment through inter-agency arrangement or publicity in the specialist and/or wider press will be considered. Where there is doubt about the availability of a suitable in-house family, such external recruitment may be considered alongside internal recruitment, to minimise delay. Where it is considered that a placement of the child with overseas adopters would be appropriate, see Section 11, Adoptive Placements Abroad;
17.	Where external recruitment has been identified as appropriate at the Family Finding Planning Meting, the family finder will undertake the following: Check that either the parents or the Agency Adoption Decision Maker have signed the Consent to Publicity Form or, where the child is the subject of Court proceedings, legal advice has been obtained as to whether the Court’s leave should be sought; Ask the child’s social worker to arrange for professional photographs to be taken of the child for publicity purposes; Meet the child’s social worker to confirm which publications are to be used for publicity purposes, and draw up suitable profiles.
18.	Profiles to be placed in specialist journals such as ‘Adoption Today’ or ‘Be My Parent’ may be sent directly, together with the signed authority of the Adoption and Permanency team manager; the payment of the fee must be arranged through the Finance Department;
19.	Profiles to be placed in the wider press, such as national or regional newspapers, should be submitted through the borough’s Press Office, which will obtain process for the publicity required and negotiate directly with the papers. When a firm price has been quoted, the authority of the Adoption and Permanency team manager should be obtained;
20.	Other members of the adoption team should be made aware of the dates of the publicity and a response to callers should be agreed;
21.	Responses from families not yet approved should be dealt with as follows: Take details of the family for family finding referral file; Give information about the child, including the child’s legal status, in order to help the caller decide whether this is a situation they wish to pursue; Give general information about the adoption and family finding process, bearing in mind that the caller has not gone through the assessment and preparation process; Arrange a more appropriate time to hold or continue the discussion, as appropriate; If, on the basis of the discussions held, it is not considered appropriate, having regard to the needs of the child, to pursue the response, the caller should be advised of the decision, with reasons, and provided with contact details of other agencies which may be of help to them, for example BAAF and Adoption UK; If the family is considered suitable, their details should be placed on the family finding file, for further consideration alongside other families.
22.	Responses from already approved families should be dealt with as follows: Take details of the family and complete a referral form; Give information about the child, including the child’s legal status, in order to help the caller decide whether this is a situation they wish to pursue; Give general information about how the family finding is being conducted, bearing in mind that the family’s own agency may approach this is a different way; If, on the basis of the discussions held, it is not considered appropriate, having regard to the needs of the child, to pursue the response, the caller should be advised of the decision, with reasons; If the family is considered suitable, their details and the names of their agency and worker should be taken. The family should be asked to inform their worker of their approach to the borough and that the family finder will contact the worker; The family finding will contact the family’s worker and information shared about the child and the family. Where it is considered that the match is not appropriate, the worker will discuss this with the family and the family finder need take no further action; If it is considered that the link should be pursued, the worker and the family finder will agree to exchange the family’s Form F/Prospective Adopter’s Report and the Child’s Permanence Report, with a follow up discussion after the Forms have been read; The worker may wish to visit the family to go through the Child’s Permanence Report, and should be asked to indicate as soon as possible whether or not the family wish to proceed.
23.	The procedure outlined in paragraphs 13, 14 and 15 above will then be followed;
24.	The child's social worker, family finder and the prospective adopters' worker should then prepare an Adoption Placement Report and a proposed Adoption Support Plan giving details of the family recommended, evaluating how this family may meet the child's needs and setting out the proposed adoption support services to be offered to the child, adoptive family and birth family. This will include including the support to be provided to the prospective adopters to promote the child's educational achievements and participation in leisure activities; to help the child develop positive relationships; and to manage any challenging behaviour which the child may display, The support plan will also include arrangements for contact including how to deal with unauthorised or unmediated contact through online social networking sites. For further information, please giving a resume of the family finding process, identifying the child's needs and identifying the family considered the most suitable, together with reasons. The author/s of the report must be a qualified social worker with a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience of child care work, including direct experience of adoption work. Where the allocated worker does not meet the above requirements, he/she must be a qualified social worker or a social worker in training and be supervised by a social worker who does meet the requirements. Where the allocated worker is not employed by the borough, he/she must meet the requirements and be supervised by a practitioner who also meets the requirements;
25.	The family finder should also contact the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator to arrange a date for the Adoption and Permanency Panel to consider the proposed placement. The child’s social worker should also prepare, in conjunction with the prospective adopters’ social worker, an Adoption Support Plan (contained in the Adoption Pack), setting out the proposed adoption services to be offered to the child, adoptive family and birth parents. The prospective adopters’ social worker should also consider the prospective adopters’ eligibility for financial support and, where appropriate, obtain their agreement to the amount of support to be provided – see Adoption Support Services Procedure;
26.	The child’s social worker, family finder, the prospective adopters’ worker and their respective managers should sign the Adoption Placement Report;
27.	The prospective adopters’ worker should then provide the prospective adopters with a copy of the Adoption Placement Report and give them 10 working days to submit any comments on the contents;
28.	The child’s social worker will keep the parents and child informed of progress.

7. Approval of Matching of Adoptive Parents

The overall time-scale for matching a child with a prospective adoptive family is:

The proposed placement to be recommended by the Adoption and Permanency Panel within 6 months of the agency’s formal approval that the child should be placed for adoption;
Except where the child is less than six months of age, in which case the proposed placement to be recommended by the Adoption and Permanency Panel within 3 months of the agency’s formal approval that the child should be placed for adoption.

Where these timescales are not met, the Adoption Panel should record the reasons.

1.	Presentation to the Adoption and Permanency Panel The child’s social worker must present the following reports to the Adoption and Permanency Panel: The Child’s Permanence Report (updated as necessary) on the child; The Panel minute recommending that the child should be placed for adoption; The Prospective Adopter’s Report on the identified prospective adopters; The Panel minute recommending the prospective adopters as suitable to adopt; The Adoption Placement Report; This should include any preference as to choice of adoptive family expressed by the parents; The assessment of the needs for adoption support services and the proposed Adoption Support Plan; The proposals regarding post-adoption contact; The views of the adopters on the Adoption Placement Report and the proposed contact; The views of the Children’s Guardian, if known.
2.	The child’s social worker will send the relevant reports to the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator 14 working days before the date of the Adoption and Permanency Panel;
3.	Unless reports on the adoption plan and the prospective adopters are being presented at the same time, the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator will arrange for the Panel minutes in relation to the approvals of the adoption plan and the prospective adopters to be circulated to Panel members, with the reports;
4.	The child’s social worker, the prospective adopters’ worker and family finder will attend the Adoption and Permanency Panel during consideration of the matter;
5.	The recommendation as to the proposed placement with particular prospective adopters will be recorded in writing, together with reasons, in the Panel’s minutes. Where a placement is recommended, the Panel must also consider and may advice on the proposed adoption support and future contact arrangements, and whether/how the exercise of parental responsibility by the birth parents and/or the prospective adopters will be restricted. A copy of the relevant minute must be held on the child’s adoption case record;
6.	The child’s social worker will convey the Panel’s recommendation and advice orally to the child and the parents within 24 hours;
7.	The prospective adopters’ worker will convey the Panel’s recommendation and advice orally to the prospective adopters within 24 hours;
8.	After the Adoption and Permanency Panel After the Adoption and Permanency Panel has made a written recommendation, the Panel minutes and reports considered by the Panel will be sent to the Agency Decision Maker who will make a decision based on the Panel’s recommendation within 7 working days. The decision will have regard to the Panel recommendation and advice, and be recorded in writing;
9.	Where the Agency Adoption Decision Maker is minded to disagree with the Panel recommendation, he/she must first discuss the case with another senior officer with the appropriate experience, who should not be a Panel member. This discussion must be recorded and placed on the child’s adoption case record;
10.	The child’s social worker will inform the parents of the decision orally within 2 working days and send written notice of the decision, signed by the Agency Decision Maker to the parents within 5 working days. The child’s social worker will convey the decision to the child (depending on age and understanding) in a way appropriate to his/her needs;
11.	The prospective adopters’ worker will inform the prospective adopters orally within 2 working days and send written notice of the decision within 5 working days.

8. Planning the Placement

Once the matching has been approved, the child’s social worker should make arrangements for the prospective adopters to meet the child. This meeting can take place before a Placement Planning Meeting takes place. It will usually take place in the child’s foster home with the social worker and foster carer present. On occasion the prospective adopters may have seen or met the child/ren prior to the Panel meeting;
Where the adopters have been approved in-house, the prospective adopters’ worker will convene a Placement Planning Meeting to take place as soon as practicable after the placement has been approved;
Where the prospective adopters are from a different agency, the allocated adoption social worker will convene the meeting;
The Placement Planning Meeting will usually take place in a Social Services office and not the foster home nor the prospective adoptive home;
A manager or senior practitioner from the Adoption Service will chair the meeting;
The child’s social worker and prospective adopters’ worker should liaise with the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator to ensure that the Chair is sent the following 7 days before the meeting:
1. The Child’s Permanence Report, plus the relevant Panel minute;
2. The Prospective Adopter’s Report, plus the relevant Panel minute;
3. The Adoption Placement Report and Adoption Support Plan, plus the relevant Panel minute;
4. Any other relevant reports.
Those attending the Placement Planning Meetings will be the social worker, his/her manager as appropriate, the foster carers, the social worker linked to the child’s foster carers, representatives of the health trust (where appropriate), the prospective adopters and their worker;
The child’s social worker must ascertain the child’s views and report these to the meeting;
The purpose of the meeting is to draw up an Adoption Placement Plan setting out the steps required leading up to the child's placement with the prospective adopters, including the first meeting between the child and the prospective adoptive family (if this has not already taken place), the programme of and detailed arrangements for their introductions (dates, times, venues, transport and accommodation) and, where appropriate, a meeting between the parents and the prospective adopters. As part of the preparation of the child for the adoptive placement, information will be provided to ensure that s/he has a proper understanding about the accommodation and others living at the prospective adoptive home, the contact arrangements with the birth family and how to contact his or her social worker;
It should also include whether the placement is under a Placement Order or with parental consent, the proposed date of the placement, who will be present when the placement takes place, the Adoption Support Plan including the support to be provided to the prospective adopters to promote the child's educational achievements and participation in leisure activities; to help the child develop positive relationships; and to manage any challenging behaviour which the child may display, how the exercise of parental responsibility by the birth parents and/or prospective adopters will be restricted, the arrangements for the supervision and monitoring of the placement (include the contact details of workers during office hours and out of hours), the date when the life story book and any Later Life letters will be passed to the prospective adopters, the date and arrangements for the first review, any post-placement contact between the child and members of his/her birth family or the foster carers, and clarification as to who will make the necessary notifications of the placement (see Section 9, The Placement);
The Adoption Placement Plan will also address when the prospective adopters will be supplied with all relevant written information about the child, the form this will take (for example the inclusion of a 'Later Life letter) and who will provide it. (Usually within 10 working days of the adoption ceremony, i.e. the ceremony to celebrate the making of the adoption order);
The Chair will ensure that copies of the Adoption Placement Plan, drawn up at the meeting are distributed;
In the case of a placement with prospective adopters approved by a different adoption agency, Forms BAAF H1 will be completed. This will set out the agreement between the agencies in relation to the placement;
The Placement Planning Meetings should ensure that the workers involved are clear about their respective roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the adoption plan, and what should happen in the event of difficulties. The workers involved are expected to be in regular and frequent contact with the child, foster carer and prospective adopter during the period of the introductions and share information with each other also on a regular basis, at the frequency identified at the Placement Planning Meeting;
The child’s social worker will advise the parents of the plan whilst maintaining the confidentiality of the placement;
Several Placement Planning Meetings during the introductory period may be required. At a minimum there should be one review meeting following the initial Placement Planning Meeting. Any such meeting will consider the following:
1. The progress of the introductions – has the necessary action identified at the previous meeting been taken, and the plan been followed - if not, why not;
2. The views of each participant as to the above;
3. The identification of the positives;
4. The identification of any difficulties;
5. The development of the next stage of the plan.
A meeting can be called by any of the parties if issues of concern arise. All Placement Planning Meetings should have the same people invited and take place at a venue accessible to all parties;
Depending on the length of introductions, there may be a final Placement Planning Meeting to confirm that the timing of the placement is appropriate and to finalise arrangements for the placement.

If the introductions have proceeded well, the final Placement Planning Meeting can be limited to the child’s social worker, the prospective adopters’ social worker and their respective managers;
Where the child is to be adopted by his or her foster carers, there will be no need for a plan for introductions but the social worker should still convene a Placement Planning Meeting, in order to draw up an Adoption Placement Plan to cover all other areas relevant to the placement as set out in paragraphs 9 and 10 above and to specify the date when the placement is to be regarded as an adoptive placement;
As part of the restrictions on the exercise of parental responsibility, the social worker must advise the adopters not to change the child’s name under any circumstances prior to the adoption order. In any case where there are exceptional circumstances and it may be appropriate for a change of name, this can only be initiated by the child’s social worker and the Change of Name Procedure must be followed. See Change of Name of a Looked After Child Procedure;
Where contact is part of the adoption plan, the proposals must be drawn up in a written agreement to be signed by the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents prior to the placement. The agreement must specify the form and timing of the contact and the arrangements for putting the contact in place. The agreement must also specify that the arrangements may change dependent upon the wishes of the child. All parties must sign and retain a copy of the agreement. The agreement should also include how the prospective adopters should deal with unauthorised or unmediated contact through online social networking sites;
The prospective adopters and the child’s social worker should sign the Adoption Placement Plan and copies should be distributed to them and the prospective adopters’ worker. A copy must be retained on the child’s adoption case record. The prospective adopters should be asked to confirm in writing that they wish the placement to proceed on the basis of the Adoption Placement Plan;
If the Adoption Placement Plan is subsequently amended or terminated, the prospective adopters must be informed by their social worker; the child must be informed by the child’s social worker;
If the Adoption Placement Plan is terminated, the parents must be informed by the child’s social worker.

The manager of the Adoption Service should consider the best way to conduct a disruption meeting – see Ending (Disruption) of Adoption Placement Procedure;
In this event, the child’s social worker must re-start the process of identifying a suitable prospective adoptive family (depending on the outcome of the Disruption Meeting) or review the plan by reconvening an Adoption Review for the child – see Adoption Reviews Procedure.

9. The Placement

The placement of the child with the particular prospective adopters cannot take place until the placement has been approved, authority to place the child has been obtained (either through a Placement Order or Parental Consent), the introductions of the child to the adoptive family have been successfully completed, the Adoption Placement Plan has been drawn up and the prospective adopters have confirmed in writing that the placement can go ahead (see Section 8, Planning the Placement). A social worker must be present when the placement takes place;
Prior to the placement, the child’s social worker must ensure that all the following written information about the child has been provided to the adopters, with a copy to the child (depending on the child’s age and understanding):
1. The Child’s Permanence Report on the child (updated in last 6 months);
2. Medical information including birth details (time, place, weight, term, type of delivery, with Forms M and B), Form C (if child under 5) or Form D (if child 5 or older) and any medical reports on the child;
3. Authority to consent to medical and dental treatment (as set out in the Adoption Placement Plan);
4. The child’s ’Red Book’ and NHS Card;
5. A ‘Later in Life’ letter from the birth parent;
6. A ‘Later in Life Letter’ from the social worker;
7. The child’s passport (if applicable);
8. Carers’ report including the child’s daily routine, likes and dislikes, advice on behaviour management and factors indicating distress;
9. Health report (prepared for Adoption and Permanency Panel);
10. Current school reports and PEP;
11. Any letters, photographs or mementos from the birth family, and the Life Story Book;
12. The child’s profile for home-finding;
13. Details of siblings and the reasons for any decisions made to place the child separately;
14. The written agreement setting out the contact arrangements pre and post adoption with the birth parents and any previous carers;
15. A Leaflet on Benefits and Tax;
16. The Adoption Support Plan, including a named post-adoption social worker and a Statement of Particulars of financial support where applicable;
17. The Adoption Placement Plan including arrangements for support and visits by the child’s social worker and their own social worker;
18. Any other relevant information, including specialist reports (subject to the author’s consent)
  
  The prospective adopters should be asked to sign confirmation of receipt. Where the information is provided at different times, the prospective adopters must sign and date confirmation of receipt on each occasion.
Also, prior to the placement, the child’s social worker must notify the present and new GP, the local social services authority (where the adoptive family live outside the authority), the relevant Health Trust and, if the child is at nursery or of school age, the relevant local education authority. This notification is still required prior to the adoptive placement where the prospective adopters were previously the child’s foster carers;
The Medical Adviser should be requested to send a medical report on the child to the child’s new GP and the adopters;
Where the child’s foster carers are the prospective adopters, the foster carers’ social worker must confirm in writing to the prospective adopters the date from which the placement is to be regarded as an adoptive placement or, where the foster carers are from a different agency, confirmation must be given by a manager from the adoption service;
The child’s social worker must inform the parents of the date of the placement. No identifying information about the placement should be conveyed to birth parents or relatives;
The child’s social worker should ensure that the computer record system does not show the placement address but identifies that the child is placed for adoption;
The child’s social worker will inform the Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator of the date of the placement as soon as it is made.

10. Children Approved for Adoption for Whom no Placement has Been Identified

Each individual child will be the subject of monthly family finding meetings – see Section 6, Identification of Adoptive Parents;
The Adoption and Permanency Panel Administrator will arrange for a six-monthly report to be presented by the relevant child’s social worker to the Adoption and Permanency Panel on the children who have been approved for adoption but are still awaiting placement, the social worker in each case identifying the length of the delay, the reasons and the steps being taken to address any difficulties, including consideration of a review of the adoption plan and/or a possible change to long-term fostering/ separation of siblings;
The Adoption and Permanency Panel may request a progress report on an individual case where there are particular concerns about delay;
In addition, once authority to place the child for adoption has been obtained (either through a Placement Order or Parental Consent), the child will be subject to regular Adoption Reviews, chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer – see Adoption Reviews Procedure;
The child's details should be passed to the Adoption Register if no locally identified match is being actively pursued at the latest by 3 months after the decision by the Agency Decision Maker that the child should be placed for adoption.

11. Adoptive Placements Abroad

Where an adoptive placement outside the UK appears to be a viable option, and consultation with the child (if old enough) supports this, the proposal must be considered at a child’s Looked After Review before becoming part of the child’s Care Plan.

The child may be considered for an adoptive placement with known prospective adopters in which case it will be for the adoption agency to satisfy itself that the prospective adopters are suitable to adopt the child. Otherwise, the child may be referred to the Department for Education for a suitable linking to be identified (see below).

In either circumstance, the case must be referred to the Adoption and Permanency Panel for consideration and the child’s social worker should consult with Legal Services about the legal process to be followed.

Where no Prospective Adopters Have Been identified

The child’s social worker should report to the Adoption and Permanency Panel seeking a formal recommendation that the child should be placed for adoption outside the UK. Where Panel make this recommendation, the Agency Adoption Decision Maker should decide whether this option can be formally pursued and a decision should be made whether to pursue a Placement Order.

Where such a decision is made, the child’s social worker must notify the Department for Education of the following:

The child’s file reference number
The child’s name
The child’s date of birth
The gender of the child
The reasons why the decision has been made that adoption outside the UK may be suitable for the child
The date of the Placement Order.

The Department for Education maintains a list of children waiting for inter country adoption.

If a decision is made after the child’s name is placed on the list that an inter country adoptive placement is no longer appropriate, the child’s social worker must inform the Department for Education so that the child’s details are removed from the list.

Where the Department for Education receive an application from a foreign country, it will check that the prospective adopters have been assessed as eligible and suitable, and that they meet the age and marital status of the UK law, and if so, consider whether there are children of the age and gender to match the prospective adopters’ approval. Where there are children on the list who appear, on the face of it, to match the prospective adopters, the Department for Education will send the relevant papers on the prospective adopters to the local authority looking after the child.

Upon receipt of the papers, the child’s social worker in conjunction with the adoption service, will consider whether the prospective adopters would meet the child’s needs. Where necessary, additional information should be requested from the overseas authority via the Department for Education.

Where it is decided that the prospective adopters are not suitable, the Department for Education should be notified and the papers returned.

Where it is decided that the prospective adopters are suitable, the Department for Education should be notified and the proposed match referred to the Adoption and Permanency Panel for consideration in accordance with the usual procedure. Included in the papers to be presented to the Adoption and Permanency Panel must be the report on the prospective adopters by the foreign authority.

The child’s social worker must notify the Department for Education of the decision made.

Where the decision is to proceed with the placement, the child’s social worker must send the Child’s Permanence Report, together with the Placement Order and a recent photograph of the child, to the Department for Education for onward transmission to the overseas authority and the prospective adopters.

Where the prospective adopters decide to go ahead with the placement, they will be required to travel to meet the child.

The prospective adopters will need to seek independent legal advice about the need to apply for a Convention Adoption Order in the UK (which will require the child to be with the adopters for at least 6 months) or an Order from the High Court granting them parental responsibility to take the child outside the UK for the purposes of adoption (which will require the child to be with the adopters for at least 10 weeks before an application can be made).

Placement Planning Meetings should be convened in accordance with the usual placement procedures to plan the prospective adopters’ first meeting with the child, introductions and where the placement goes ahead, the monitoring of the placement both in the UK and abroad. Regular reports should be required from the relevant overseas authority after the placement.

If the prospective adopters still wish to go ahead and the Placement Planning Meeting confirms that the placement meets the child’s needs, the child’s social worker must inform the Department for Education, who will contact the overseas authority to confirm that they are content for the placement to go ahead and that the child will be permitted to enter and reside permanently. In these circumstances, the Department for Education will enter the necessary agreement with the overseas authority.

The child’s social worker can then arrange for the placement to go ahead.

The prospective adopters will need to arrange for the foreign authority to monitor the placement as required by the Adoption Placement Plan.

Where Prospective Adopters Have Been Identified

It will be for the adoption service to satisfy itself that the prospective adopters are suitable to adopt the child. The assessment should usually be carried out in the prospective adopters’ country and then sent to the adoption agency in the same way as for any other prospective adopter.

The prospective adopters will need to seek independent legal advice about the need to apply for an Order from the High Court granting them parental responsibility to take the child outside the UK for the purposes of adoption.

The child’s social worker will need to arrange for the foreign authority to monitor the placement as required by the Adoption Placement Plan.

End