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Contents

1. Criteria for Prospective Adopters
2. Responding to Initial Enquiries
3. Information Session, Initial Visit and Application
4. Preparation Groups
5. Checks and References
6. Home Study/Assessment
7. Prospective Adopter’s Report
8. The Panel Recommendation
9. After the Panel Recommendation
10. Representations/Independent Review Procedure
11. Support to Adopters and Review of Prospective Adopters' Approval
    
    Flowchart to follow

1. Criteria for Prospective Adopters

Individual and Joint

Applications will be considered from married couples, unmarried couples or single people. In the case of married and unmarried couples, there is no minimum requirement on the length of the marriage/relationship, but couples will need to be able to demonstrate that their relationship is ‘stable and permanent’ and strong enough to withstand the demands that an adoptive placement may bring

Religion

Applications will be considered from people of any or no religious persuasion. (Applicants can be atheist or agnostic).

Ethnicity

Applications will be considered from people of any race or culture.

Age

The minimum age for adopters is 21 years. There is no specific upper age limit. The age of applicants is considered in relation to their energy and activity levels and the age of the child they wish to be considered for.

Gender

Applications will be considered from people of either sex.

Sexual Orientation

Applications will be considered from people of any sexual orientation.

Income

Applicants may be in work or not.  Whatever the applicants’ income, they will need to consider the financial implications of increasing their family. Applicants do not need to be well off and may be on benefits, but we do need to be sure that they could manage the responsibility of a child.  Financial assistance may be paid under certain circumstances where it is considered that an adoption would not otherwise be possible or practical for a child.  Financial assistance might be paid to help adopters cope with the costs involved for caring for a group of siblings or a child with special needs.

Health

Adopters need to have energy and to have the expectation of being able to care for their adopted child throughout childhood and to continue providing support into young adulthood.  There is a statutory requirement for adoptive applicants to have a medical examination by their GP, which is considered by our Medical Advisor.  If there is a significant risk that an applicant may not be able to care for a child throughout their dependent years, the Medical Advisor will seek further information.  S/he will advise the social worker and the Adoption and Permanence Panel about the medical issues and the implications for a child’s future care and security.

We do not exclude applicants on the basis of smoking, but given the known medical risks of passive smoking for young children, we would discuss this with applicants.  Children under five years of age and children with specific relevant health issues will not be placed in  smoking households because of the well recognised risks of passive smoking.

Criminal Convictions

A person who is seeking approval as an adoptive parent will not be considered if s/he or any adult member of the household has been cautioned for or convicted of an offence against a child which involves violence or bodily injury (other than common assault or battery), cruelty (to a child under 16), indecency, abduction, the supply of Class A drugs or the importation/possession of indecent photographs of a child under 16 or a sexual offence against a child unless the offence was contrary to sections 6,12 or 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and the person concerned was under 20 when the offence was committed.

Other convictions will not necessarily preclude an application, but this will depend on the seriousness of the offence and how long ago it was committed. The decision to proceed with an application in circumstances where the applicant or a household member has a previous conviction will be referred to the Assistant Director – Children’s Social Care.

Accommodation

Applicants may own their own Home or live in rented accommodation. They will have to demonstrate that they have a secure Home environment in which to bring up a child.

They will need accommodation appropriate to the number and ages of the children they are seeking to adopt.

Fertility Tests/Treatment

Applicants are advised to complete investigations and treatment and feel emotionally ready to move on before applying to adopt a child.  This is because of the emotional stress involved in fertility treatment and the need for applicants to be ready to devote their energies to adoption.

Applicants who have a Child or Children

Applications will be accepted from people who already have a child. It is usual for there to be a minimum two year age gap between the adopted child and any other child in the family.  Also we generally place children who are younger than other children in the family

Domicile/Habitual Residence in the British Isles

Applicants do not have to have British Citizenship, but should be Domiciled or Habitually Resident in the British Isles (terms defined in Keywords). Where there is a joint application, only one of the applicants need to be domiciled in the British Isles or both should be habitually resident here. In all these cases it is essential to see all relevant documents in order to fully establish nationality and immigration status.

Where there is doubt, potential applicants should be asked to seek independent advice.

Location

Applications are welcome from those who reside within Brighton & Hove and a 30 mile radius.

Child Care Experience

It is important that the applicant who is going to be the main Carer has some experience of children of the age group in which the applicants are interested.

Support Network

Applicants will need to demonstrate that they have accessible and established support networks of family and friends who will be in a position to provide support with Parenting.

Post Placement/Post Adoption Contact

Prospective adopters will be expected to comply with arrangements for post placement/post adoption contact with the child’s birth family, where the agency considers it is in the child’s best interests for such contact to take place.

2. Responding To Initial Enquiries

The Adoption and Permanence Team will provide a duty service to respond to enquiries from people interested in becoming prospective adopters and are responsible for undertaking all assessments of prospective adopters.  The Concurrency Team will undertake all assessments of concurrent carers (foster carers/adopters). Initial details will be taken and information given about eligibility criteria.

Staff of the Children & Young People's Trust and elected members will be advised to refer their interest to a different Adoption and Permanence Team if there is a potential conflict of interest. In the event of there being concern about any potential conflict of interest, the matter should be referred to the Service Manager for consideration.  The advice of the Agency Adviser may also be sought.

All enquirers will be sent a Recruitment Pack which includes information on the adoption process, Placement Orders, information about the children requiring adoptive placements (including their age ranges, background and characteristics), the Habitual Residence and Domicile requirements (these terms are defined in Keywords) for adoptive parents, the assessment and training process and timescales (including the checks, references and preparation), matching, adoption support, the Independent Review Mechanism (See: Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure) and the Complaints Procedure.

The Recruitment Pack must be sent within 5 working days of the initial enquiry.

A duty social worker from the either the Adoption and Permanence Team or Concurrency Team (if the enquirer wishes to discuss adopting a child under the age of 2 years) will contact the enquirer within 2 weeks of their initial contact to ascertain if they  wish to pursue their interest.  If the enquirer does wish to pursue their interest they should be provided with advice and support on their specific circumstances.  The social worker should record the outcome of the telephone conversation on CareFirst and complete an Initial Enquiry Form which summarises the discussion held with the enquirer.

The enquirers will be given an explanation of the need for the agency to conduct checks into their backgrounds and into the backgrounds of any other adult members of their household. Enquirers must be informed that where any checks result in certain previous convictions or cautions coming to light  the agency may not be able to proceed with the application. The enquirer should also be informed that in such circumstances the agency is only permitted to disclose the specific reasons to the person who has the conviction or caution.

If the enquirer wishes to proceed they will be asked to complete a detailed assessment questionnaire and financial forms. If the enquirer does not respond to the agency within two weeks the duty social worker will contact him/her to enquire whether they wish to proceed with their interest

If the enquirer is responding to publicity for a specific child, this should immediately be passed to the worker with responsibility for family finding for the child concerned. See: Placement for Adoption Procedures.

The Practice Manager will consider those who confirm they wish to proceed with their interest on the basis of the information provided and, depending on whether they appear to meet the criteria (See Section 1, Criteria for Prospective Adopters), will decide whether to pursue the offer.  If so, the enquirer will be invited to attend an Information Session (See Section 3, Information Session/Initial Visit).

The decision will be communicated to the person concerned and recorded.

3. Information Session, Initial Visit and Application

Where the Practice Manager decides to proceed, the enquirer will be invited to attend an Information Session. The invitation will be sent to the enquirer within 2 months of the initial enquiry.

The purpose of the Information Session is to explain further the procedures (including the need to attend a Motivation to Adopt Group, a Preparation Group, and the assessment process) and the priority recruitment needs of the service.  The needs of the children currently waiting for adoptive families will be outlined.  The enquirer will have the opportunity to meet approved adopters at the Information Session.

A social worker will undertake an initial home visit for those who wish to pursue their interest following the Information Session. Further discussion and information sharing will fully detail the assessment process. (See Initial Home Visit Guidance Form). The prospective applicants should be specifically asked to notify the agency if they become aware, at any point in the assessment process, of anything that might preclude them from adopting.

The Practice Manager will make a decision as to whether to invite the enquirer to a Motivation to Adopt Group. Following the Motivation to Adopt Group, the enquirer will be asked to complete a Learning Log and attend a Feedback Meeting. 

After the initial visit, the enquirers’ attendance at the Motivation to Adopt Group and the  Feedback Meeting, the Practice Manager will decide whether it is appropriate to give the enquirer a Prospective Adopter Application Form.  The decision will be based on the information obtained so far in relation to the enquirer. Where a decision is made to provide the enquirer with an application form, the enquirer will be given the Application Pack (which includes an application form and forms for relevant checks – see Section 5, Checks).

On receipt of a satisfactorily completed application form, a letter will be sent to the applicant(s) confirming that his/her application has been accepted.  The applicants will be invited to attend the next Adopters Preparation Group.

If there are reasons for not inviting/accepting an application, the Practice Manager will meet with the enquirer setting out the decision not to proceed and the reasons.  Advice should be given of any steps he/she may take in order to meet the criteria or how he/she might pursue their interest elsewhere, if appropriate, or steps he/she may take if he/she disagrees with the decision.

Where it is decided to proceed, an Adoption Case Record for the prospective applicant will be opened (including where it is a second or foster carer application, in which case copies of relevant information from other files should be placed on the new Adoption Case Record.)

4. Preparation Groups

All prospective adopters will be required to complete a Preparation Group, unless they have previously tended a Brighton and Hove Adopter Preparation Group.

The Groups are an integral part of the application process, and all applicants are expected to attend all sessions and complete a Learning Log.

The objectives of the Groups are:

• To raise awareness and understanding of the key issues which need to be addressed by all prospective adopters
• To assist applicants to consider more thoroughly the implications of adoption and to decide whether or not adoption is right for them
• To assist applicants to determine the type of resource they can offer to the children needing adoptive placements.

Where issues emerge during a Preparation Group as a result of which the agency decides that it is not appropriate to proceed with the application, a meeting should take place with the applicants to discuss the information further..  Advice should be given of any steps they may take in order to meet the criteria or of how they might pursue their interest elsewhere, if appropriate.  They should be notified in writing of the decision, with reasons

Where they disagree with the decision and/or are not willing to withdraw, a brief Prospective Adopter’s Report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopters (See: Section 8, The Panel Recommendation, Section 9, After the Panel Recommendation and Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure).

5. Checks and References

5.1 Checks

All applicants will be asked to complete application forms for the necessary checks to be undertaken for all members of the household aged 18 and over.

On receipt of the completed forms, the following checks will be taken up on all adult members of the household aged 18 and over: Criminal Records Bureau (enhanced criminal record certificates will be sought), Health Trust, Education Authority, Children’s Social Care Services. Where the applicants live outside Brighton & Hove, the checks must be made with the local authority and health trust where the applicants live.

Enquires will be made of all local authorities within which the applicants have lived within the last five years.

Where applicants have recently moved to the UK (within the last 10 years), a decision  will be made as to whether additional checks or references need to be taken up to clarify whether enough (verified) information is available to enable the agency to proceed with the assessment.

Where there are concerns about an applicant’s circumstances as a result of the information obtained from the above checks, for example as a result of a conviction which means the applicant or a member of the household is Disqualified, the applicant will be advised not to proceed with the application. A further meeting may be arranged to the applicants to explain the decision not to proceed. The applicants must always be notified in writing of the decision, with reasons.

If the information leading to this decision relates to a previous conviction of a member of the applicant’s household, the details of the offence can only be disclosed to the applicant with the consent of the relevant person; without such consent, the applicant can only be informed that the reason relates to information obtained from the checks but no details can be given.

Where the applicants are not willing to withdraw, a brief Prospective Adopter’s Report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopters (See:Section 8, The Panel Recommendation, Section 9, After the Panel Recommendation and Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure). However, if the information relates to a previous conviction of an applicant, which means the applicant is Disqualified, a report does not need to be presented to the Panel as in such circumstances the agency is not able to consider the person as suitable to adopt.

5.2 References

Where an application is accepted, applicants will be asked to provide the names of six personal referees; one of the six can be a relative. Referees should be adults who know the applicants well in a personal capacity, and it is desirable that the referees have direct experience of caring for children, either in a personal or professional capacity.

At least one of the referees should have known the applicant for a minimum of 5 years. If the applicants are a couple a minimum of 2 referees should have knowledge of them as a couple.

The allocated adoption Social Worker will send requests for written references.

The referees should be asked to comment on the following:

1. The length of time the referee has known the applicant, in what circumstances, how they met and how regularly they are in contact.
2. Where there is a joint application, the couple’s relationship including its stability and quality, the couple’s strengths and ways of coping with stress and how mutually supportive the couple is.
3. The applicants’ general physical and emotional well being.
4. How the applicants relate to children, with examples, and what experience the applicants have of caring for children.
5. How the applicants have adjusted to childlessness if this is the case, how they have prepared to become adoptive Parents, how much they have shared with the referees and how open they are in talking about the issues surrounding adoption.
6. If the applicants have children of their own, how the referee thinks a child from a different ethnic background will impact on the other children in the family.
7. Any reservations the referee has and whether the referee wholeheartedly supports the application

A written reference must also be obtained from each applicant’s last/current employer.  If the applicant is or has been in the past, employed in a childcare capacity, information should be sought from that  employer.  The employer should be specifically asked to comment on whether he/she has any reason to believe the applicant would harm a child in his/her care.

Where the prospective applicant has made a previous application to foster or adopt, the relevant agency must be asked to confirm in writing the outcome of the application and provide a written reference.

As well as providing a written reference, the assessing Social Worker will select at least three referees, one of whom may be a relative, to visit and interview during the Home Study part of the assessment process.

At the start of the interview, the referee should be informed that the written report of the interview will not be shared with the applicants but that any issues arising during the interview may be discussed with them.

Issues for discussion include the following:

• The applicant as a personality
• The stability of the couple’s relationship (if a joint application)
• The referee’s impression of the applicant’s general physical and emotional well being
• The referee’s opinion on the applicant’s ability to relate to children, and the basis of the opinion
• The referee’s opinion on whether adoption is appropriate for the applicant
• Any reservations the referee may have to express about any aspect of the application
• Whether the referee wholeheartedly supports the application.
• What support the referee is able to offer the prospective adopters.
• Whether the referee has any reason to believe the applicant would harm the children in their care
• Verification of relevant information provided by the applicant(s)

The assessing Social Worker will also contact the previous partners of the applicants where there were any children of the relationship. The Social Worker will arrange to interview them face-to-face wherever practicable, unless it is inappropriate to do so, in which case this should be recorded with reasons.

All children of the applicant(s) living away from home will also be contacted.

In addition, as part of the assessment, where the applicant has school age children, the relevant school(s) will be contacted, with the permission of the applicant, for information regarding the applicant’s ability to promote the child’s education.

5.3 Health

The applicants will also be asked to arrange for an adoption medical examination and report from their GP on Form AH (if this has not been done at an earlier stage).

The applicant will be asked to complete a medical consent form, which will be forwarded together with the Form AH and a covering letter to the applicants' GP.  The applicants should make an appointment with their GP once they have been advised that the relevant paperwork has been forwarded to him/her.  The GP will complete the Form AH and forward it to the Medical Adviser for further consideration.

Where the applicant’s GP has expressed concerns or where clarification of the implications of any health issues is required, detailed advice must be sought from the Medical Adviser and the implications fully discussed with the applicant. It may be necessary for reports from other health professionals also to be obtained and presented to the Medical Adviser and the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

Where there are concerns about an applicant’s circumstances, for example where there are concerns about their health or about the information obtained from referees, the applicant may be advised not to proceed with the application. Any such advice must be confirmed to them in writing and the reasons explained.

Where the applicant disagrees with the decision and/or is not willing to withdraw, a brief Prospective Adopter’s Report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopter (See: Section 8, The Panel Recommendation, Section 9, After the Panel Recommendation and Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure).

6. Home Study/Assessment

See also: Adoption Assessment Toolkit and additional Guidance for Assessing Social Workers

The assessment must be carried out by a qualified Social Worker with suitable experience (See: Section 8, The Panel Recommendation) and discussed regularly in supervision sessions between the assessing Social Worker and Practice Manager.

The assessment will comprise a series of interviews, usually between 8 and 12, the majority of which will take place in the applicants’ Home.

As part of the assessment:

• A chronology of key events in the applicant’s life must be compiled for each applicant, showing his or her educational, employment, marital and/or relationship history and addresses for the previous 10 years; any gaps and/or unusual patterns should be explored.
• The checks detailed in the Prospective Adopter's Checklist will be completed
• An ecomap and genogram for the applicant(s) will be completed
• All information provided by the applicant(s) must be independently verified, for example through information from referees, wherever possible
• Where an applicant has been divorced or separated, factors contributing to the breakdown of the relationship must be verified. This applies equally to significant relationships between couples who are not married.

The assessment will consider the likely need for adoption support services of the prospective adopters and any member of their family - See Adoption Support Procedure. As part of this, the family’s finances and the criteria for financial support should also be discussed .

Where the prospective adopters live outside Brighton & Hove, the Social Worker should ascertain the extent of any support services identified as necessary in their local area.

The assessment will also cover the applicants’ willingness to notify the Adoption and Permanence Team if the adopted child dies during childhood or soon afterwards, their views on post-placement and post-adoption contact and their willingness to pass on information to birth parents about the progress of the adopted child. The outcome of these discussions should be recorded on the prospective adopters' Adoption Case Record and be specifically reported on to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

The time taken to complete the assessment after a formal application has been received will generally be no more than eight months from the receipt of the application unless the need for additional work with the prospective adopters is identified or recommended by the Adoption and Permanence Panel. Where the assessment has taken longer than eight months, the reasons must be addressed in the Prospective Adopter’s Report.

If, during the course of the assessment, any issues emerge which cast doubt upon the likelihood of the applicants being approved, such issues should be discussed openly with the applicant at the time; the advice of the Agency Adviser (Adoption and Permanence) may be sought at any stage.

If it is considered that the assessment should be terminated and the applicant disagrees with the decision and/or is not willing to withdraw, a brief Prospective Adopter’s Report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopter (See: Section 8, The Panel Recommendation, Section 9, After the Panel Recommendation to Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure).

7. Prospective Adopter’s Report

See:Dfes Preparing and Assessing Prospective Adopters Practice Guidance, Adoption Assessment Toolkit and additional Guidance for Assessing Social Workers

The information gathered during the assessment, the Preparation Groups, Motivation to Adopt Group, as well as the checks and personal references, will form the basis of the Prospective Adopter’s Report. The report will also include a summary by the Medical Adviser of the health report obtained on the applicant/s.

Reports should address anti-discriminatory practice issues. It should contain a summary of the assessed strengths and areas of potential difficulty of the applicants, together with an opinion of the type of placement likely to be provided successfully. Potential risk factors should be highlighted. The Report should be shared with the applicants.

Once the assessing Social Worker has completed the report, it should be submitted to his or her Practice Manager for approval.

Once the Prospective Adopter’s Report is completed, the Practice Manager will arrange a meeting with the applicants.  S/he will look at the strengths and potential areas of difficulty as well as feedback from the applicants on the assessment process and will comment on these in a Supervisor’s Report.

Where there are areas of concern remaining at the conclusion of the assessment, an “off-line” Practice Manager from the Adoption and Permanence Team will meet with the applicants and complete a Second Opinion Report in lieu of the Supervisor’s report.

When the Prospective Adopter’s Report and Supervisor’s Report or Second Opinion Report are finalised, copies should be sent to the applicants.  The applicants should be asked to sign the Prospective Adopter’s Report, if agreed, and/or send their comments in writing to the assessing social worker.  Applicants will receive a letter explaining to them that they have 10 working days to do this, (or they can be asked to sign a disclaimer stating they do not wish to take 10 days to comment) and that any written comments they make will be circulated to Adoption and Permanence Panel members, with the reports. 

The applicants should also be advised of their right, and be encouraged to attend the meeting of the Adoption and Permanence Panel, which considers their application. They should be provided with written information about the Panel process, its membership, who will attend and their respective roles.

Applicants should not be shown any comments made by referees or any other third party information.

The Social Worker will then complete the checklist of documents for Panel and send them to the Panel Administrator in accordance with the procedure set out in the Arranging to Present a Case to the Adoption and Permanence Panel Guidance.

The applicant will be sent a written invitation to attend the Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting when his/her application will be considered one week in advance of the Panel meeting.

8. The Panel Recommendation

The Prospective Adopter’s Report should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel within 6 weeks of its completion.

The assessing Social Worker will attend the Panel meeting, where possible with his or her Practice Manager, together with the applicants if they attend. The decision to attend rests with the applicants and a wish not to attend will not prejudice consideration of their application.

Applicants who decide they wish to attend should be fully prepared as to the procedure prior to their attendance (See: Section 7, Prospective Adopter’s Report).

The Panel will consider the Prospective Adopter’s Report together with all the supporting documentation (See: Section 7, Prospective Adopter’s Report) and any additional information presented verbally, and make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) regarding the suitability of the applicant to adopt a child.

The recommendation will be recorded in writing and, where approval is recommended, the record will include any advice given about the number of children the prospective adopter may be suitable to adopt, their age range, sex, likely needs and background.

Reasons for the recommendations and any advice as set out above will also be recorded in the Panel’s minutes.

The Panel Chair will advise the applicant of the Panel recommendation at the Panel meeting. If they do not attend, the assessing Social Worker will advise them of the notification within one working day.

9. After The Panel Recommendation

The Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) will make a decision as to the suitability of the applicant, and express a view on any Panel advice given, based on the reports presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the minutes detailing the Panel’s recommendation and advice.

Where the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) is minded to disagree with the Panel recommendation, he/she must first discuss the case with another senior officer with relevant experience, who must not be a Panel member, before arriving at a final decision. This discussion must be recorded and placed on the child’s and the prospective adopter’s Adoption Case Record.

The decision must be made within 7 working days of the Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting and must be recorded, together with reasons.

The Agency Adviser will advise the assessing Social Worker of the decision within one working day and the assessing Social Worker will inform the applicants of the decision orally within one working day . Written notice of the decision will be sent by the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) within 5 working days of the decision. This letter will include information about the process for forwarding the adopter’s details to the South East Adoption Consortium and the National Adoption Register.

Where the decision differs from the recommendation of the Adoption and Permanence Panel, a copy of the Panel recommendation will be sent to the applicant/s with the written notification of the decision.

10. Representations/Independent Review Procedure

If the agency considers that the prospective adopter is not suitable to adopt, the applicant must be notified in writing that the agency proposes not to approve them.  This is referred to as a Qualifying Determination.

The agency must send with the notification its reasons for the Qualifying Determination, together with a copy of the recommendation of the Adoption and Permanence Panel if that recommendation is different.  The applicant must be advised that if he or she wishes to challenge the decision, representations should be submitted within 40 working days either directly to the agency or via the Independent Review Mechanism. N.B. Applicants can decide which representation procedure to choose - they cannot choose both.

The Panel Administrator must receive notification of the wish to make representations within 40 working days of the date of the written notice of the Qualifying Determination.

If no written notification or representations are received within this period, the decision to refuse the application can be made.

If a request to make written representations to the agency is made within the period, the matter must be referred to the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) for further consideration.

The Agency Decision Maker may meet with the applicants to discuss their concerns and may then refer the matter back to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

The Panel Administrator will advise the applicant within 7 days of the date of the Panel meeting when they can attend or their written representations will be considered.

After considering the representations, the Panel will make further recommendations either confirming or amending their previous views, which the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) will consider before a final decision is made.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the Panel meeting, and the notification of the decision to the applicants will be the same as set out in Section 7, Prospective Adopter’s Report.

Where the decision is still to refuse the application, a copy of the report to the Panel, the Panel’s recommendation and the decision, with reasons, must be retained on the applicant’s Adoption Case Record.

If the applicant decides to refer the matter to the Independent Review Panel, the relevant Panel reports, any new information obtained since the Panel meeting, a record of the decision made and reasons, a copy of the written notification of the decision and a copy of the Panel recommendation, if different, will be sent to the Independent Review within 10 working days of the written request.

The Independent Review Panel is managed by BAAF; the applicant and a representative of the adoption agency will be invited to attend the meeting of the Independent Review Panel.

After considering the representations, the Independent Review Panel will make a recommendation, which the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) must consider before a final decision is made.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the receipt of the Independent Review Panel recommendation, and the notification of the decision to the applicants will be the same as set out in Section 7, Prospective Adopter’s Report. .

A copy of the report to the Panel, the Panel’s recommendation and the decision to refuse an application must be retained on the applicant’s Adoption Case Record.

11. Support to Adopters and Review of Prospective Adopters’ Approval

All successful applicants will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker whose task is to support the adopters through the period of waiting for a placement, identify any further training needs, arrange updated medical examinations as requested by the Medical Adviser, consider any potential matches and discuss any such matches with the approved adopters before a match is presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

The Supervising Social Worker will also ensure that the prospective adopter’s details are sent to the South East Adoption Consortium and the National Adoption Register.

Approved adopters will also be issued with a Post Approval Pack/Adopters Handbook and their first year’s subscription to the Adoption UK will be paid for.

See Monitoring and Supervision of Placements for the frequency of visits and other responsibilities.

Approved adopters will be asked to be initially available for children from Brighton & Hove in need of an adoptive placement. If no placement is offered within 3 weeks, the prospective adopter’s details will be shared with the South East Adoption Consortium.

If the prospective adopter has not been matched with a child within three months of approval his/her details will be forwarded to BAAF for inclusion on the National Adoption Register. In the event that  an approved adopter can offer a particular resource and is unlikely to be linked to a local child, the referral to the Consortium and other agencies can be made immediately

Where no placement has been made, the agency must review the prospective adopter’s approval at least annually.  The Supervising Social Worker will carry out the review with the prospective adopter and complete a Review of Approval Report.  Where the Supervising Social Worker was also the assessing social worker, the  Practice Manager will undertake the Review and prepare the  Report.

The review should detail any significant change of circumstances; the number of children considered as a potential match by the prospective adopters and should clarify reasons for not proceeding. Children considered should be recorded anonymously.

The review will identify and explore factors that might be impeding the successful match of a child or children with the prospective adopters.

Updating Criminal Records Bureau and Health checks should be initiated at this annual review.

If following the Review of Approval the agency considers that the prospective adopter may no longer be suitable to adopt it must notify the prospective adopter of this and refer the matter to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.  The prospective adopter must be given a copy of the report and be invited to send any views to the agency within 10 working days.

The Panel must recommend to the agency whether or not the prospective adopter continues to be suitable to adopt a child.  The procedure set out in the following Sections will be followed:

Section 8, The Panel Recommendation

Section 9, After the Panel Recommendation

Section 10, Representations/Independent Review Procedure.

End