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Contents

1. Aims of the Panel System
2. Booking Cases for Panel

1. Aims of the Panel system

The aim of the following system is to ensure that those cases ready for presentation to the Adoption and Permanence Panel are considered in a timely manner.

2. Booking Cases for Panel

Cases will be allocated a slot on the Panel agenda  only when the Panel Administrator receives the completed paperwork. It will be important however for Practice Managers and Social Workers to identify in case planning which Panel date they must aim for in order to meet the necessary timescales (i.e. Court hearings, National Minimum Standards). In doing this, it should be remembered that the agency decision is not usually made until a week after the Panel meeting.

The Panel agenda will be set on the paperwork deadline day. All completed paperwork received will be considered for the next available Panel meeting and, if necessary, prioritisation will occur. Only one Panel will be booked at a time.

The following practice guidance outlines the new system:

1. Prior to presentation of cases to Panel, Social Workers can contact the Agency Adviser for advice/case discussion as necessary.
2. The timetable attached details the dates of the agency decision, Panel meeting and paperwork deadline for each Panel. Select from the left hand column the date most appropriate for your case; the middle column informs you of the Panel date and the right hand column the latest date by which paperwork should be received by the Panel Administrator.
3. The completed paperwork should be sent in hard copy form (not by email) to the Panel Administrator, Hove Park Mansions, Hove Park Villas. Hard copies need to be submitted to Panel to ensure that the necessary signatures are in place and for other administrative reasons. The appropriate checklist MUST be attached to the paperwork. This checklist will assist the Social Worker to assemble the paperwork and to confirm that everything is included.
4. On receipt of the paperwork, the Panel Administrator will check to ensure that everything on the checklist is attached. If the paperwork is complete it will be set aside until the paperwork deadline date. If anything is missing, an email will be sent asking for it to be forwarded prior to the paperwork deadline date. If this does not happen the paperwork will be returned to the relevant Social Worker for re-submission at a later date.
5. Following the paperwork deadline date, the Agency Adviser will read and quality-assure all complete paperwork. If the paperwork is of the necessary standard, it will be placed on the Panel agenda. The Agency Adviser will advise the relevant Social Workers of the issues Panel may raise. If minor amendments or additions are required, the Social Workers will be advised accordingly and asked to forward this to the Agency Adviser within three working days. If a considerable amount of work still needs to be done to the paperwork, it will be returned to the Social Worker for re-submission with advice on what additional information or amendment is needed.
6. The Social Workers will be notified by email of the date and time of the Panel meeting on which they are booked.
7. If there are too many cases to fit into Panel, they will be prioritised. This prioritisation will take place through discussion between the Professional Adviser, the relevant Social Workers and practice Managers. Every endeavour will be made to prioritise proposed placements. However, there will be other occasions when consideration of whether a child should be placed for adoption and/or the suitability of prospective adopters will have to be prioritised in order to ensure that there is throughput of all matters and/or for timely decisions to be made in relation to the legal process.
8. Once all slots for a specific Panel have been filled, any remaining complete sets of papers will be set-aside for the next Panel.
9. All queries regarding Panel meetings and agenda will be dealt with by email.
10. Any questions or difficulties with the new system should be discussed with the Professional Adviser.

See, Adoption and Permanence Panel Dates 2007

End