4.11.1 Adoption Support Services

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter outlines the procedures for the arrangements, assessment, provision and review of adoption services to persons affected by adoption.

It applies to those circumstances where a child was placed for adoption by a local authority i.e. Agency adoptions

There is discretion for requests for an assessment to be considered in non agency adoptions e.g. if there is a direct application by a foster carer , or following conclusion of care proceedings and either a Residence or Special Guardianship Order has previously been made. - contact the Designated Manger Adoption Support - see Section 3, When to and who to Assess for the Need for Adoption Support. Alternatively a request for a service in respect of a child who was not placed for adoption by a local authority will usually be treated as a request for a service under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. See Part 3 of this manual - Service Provision and Reviews - Children in Need (who are not looked after) also see Assessments Table.

Adoption Support Services are based at the Aire Building, Shipley

LEGISLATION

The Adoption and Children Act 2002

The Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005

Statutory Adoption Guidance

Recommended reading: 'Practice guidance on assessing the support needs of adoptive families', Department for Children, Schools and Families' which can be accessed via the Department for Education website.

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was updated in July 2011 to take account of the Adoption National Minimum Standards 2011 and Adoption Guidance 2011, clarifying the arrangements in sections 1 and 2.

RELATED GUIDANCE

Practice Guidance on Assessing the Support Needs of Adoptive Families (2008).

What is Adoption Support?
Types of Adoption Support
When to and who to Assess for the Need for Adoption Support
Which Local Authority should Carry out the Assessment?
Post Assessment - Which Local Authority should Provide the Support?
Process of Assessment for Adoption Support before an Order is made
Referral for Adoption Support and Assessment of Need where there is an Adoption Order
The Adoption Support Plan in Relation to a Child who is Adopted
Financial Support
Adoption Support in Relation to Contact
General Support to Adoptive Families
Adoption Support in Relation to Birth Parents and Relatives
Roles and Responsibilities of Adoption Support Service and Fieldwork Units

1. What is Adoption Support?

Local authorities must make arrangements for the assessment of the need for support services which are likely to be required for an adoptive or placement to endure through to adulthood and is applicable to both existing and new situations.

The assessment will indicate whether or not there is a need for a service and if there is a need will propose how this may be provided. The agency may either make the arrangements for this service either by providing it them themselves or referring to the appropriate service. Prospective adopters should receive full information about any adoption support services to be provided.

This service may be requested by children who are adopted and their adoptive families. Commissioning arrangements must be underpinned by a written agreement.

Birth relatives may also ask for an assessment of need in respect of matters relating to adoption , contact arrangements and counselling /advice or information.

2. Types of Adoption Support

Adoption support is defined as:

Financial support to adoptive families
Services to enable groups of adoptive children, adoptive parents and birth parents to discuss matters relating to adoption
Assistance, including mediation, with contact arrangements between adopted children and their birth relatives or others with whom they share a significant relationship.
Therapeutic services for adopted children.
Assistance to adoptive parents and children to support the adoptive placement and enable it to continue, including respite care.
Assistance to adoptive parents and children where a placement disrupts or is at risk of disruption.
Counselling, advice and information.
Intermediary Services - see Adoption Records Procedure (to follow) and Intermediary Services Procedure(to follow).
Advice given about available benefits and employee rights to leave and pay;
Assistance given with any cross boundary matters.

3. When to and who to Assess for the Need for Adoption Support

3.1 Adoption

The adoption support needs of all parties to the adoption must be borne in mind at all stages in the adoption lifecycle.

Assessment of Adoption Support needs will take place when:

Planning for adoption - When preparing the Child's Permanence Report for presentation to the Adoption Panel as to whether the child should be placed for adoption. The Report addresses the needs of the child which may require adoption support following placement, but does not ask for the types of support to be specified at this stage of planning. See Planning for Adoptive Placement Procedure.
Seeking an adoptive placement - When family finding for the child, the profile of the child's needs will be updated, along with an assessment of potential support needs. See Planning for Adoptive Placement Procedure.
Assessing prospective adopters - When preparing the Prospective Adopter's Report for presentation to the Adoption Panel as to the suitability of prospective adoptive parents to adopt. See Assessment and Approval of Prospective Adopters Procedure.
When seeking to place a child for adoption - A full assessment of the adoption support needs of all parties to the adoption will be compiled for the Adoption Support Plan which is incorporated into the Adoption Placement Report for presentation to the Adoption Panel in relation to the proposed placement of a child with particular prospective adopters. See Placements for Adoption Procedure.
Reviews of children placed for adoption - Adoption support must always be considered at a child's Reviews following the adoptive placement. See Adoption Reviews Procedure.
A request is made for an assessment of adoption support needs once an Adoption Order has been made - see Section 7, Referral for Adoption Support and Assessment of Need where there is an Adoption Order below
Request made by eligible person - Local authorities must undertake assessments of need for adoption support at the request of the following (see Assessments Table):
- Children who may be adopted, their parents or guardians
- Persons wishing to adopt a child
- Adopted persons, their parents, birth parents and former guardians
- Other children of adoptive parents (whether or not they are adopted)
- Birth siblings of adopted children
- Relatives of the adopted child or other persons with whom the child has a beneficial relationship

In non agency adoptions

Assistance for the purpose of ensuring the continuance of the relationship between an adoptive child and his adoptive parent, including -
1. training for adoptive parents for the purpose of meeting any special needs of the child; and
2. subject to paragraph (4), respite care;
Assistance where disruption of an adoptive placement, or of an adoption arrangement following the making of an adoption order, has occurred or is in danger of occurring, including -
1. making arrangements for the provision of mediation services; and
2. organising and running meetings to discuss disruptions in such placements or arrangements.
Assistance in relation to contact for a child who is the natural sibling of an adoptive child and this is not limited to agency adoptions

Chick here to view the Assessments Table

DfES (2005) Adoption Support Guidance Chapter 9, Adoption Guidance - Adoption and Children Act 2002,

4. Which Local Authority should Carry out the Assessment?

The table below sets out which local authority has responsibility for carrying out the assessment of need for adoption support, and in what circumstances.

Circumstance	Responsibility for Assessment
Child being Looked After by Bradford MDC and in respect of whom an adoption plan is being considered	Bradford
Child was Looked After by and placed by Bradford with adoptive family living in Bradford or moved outside the District	Bradford has responsibility at the time of the placement and for up to 3 years after the Adoption Order is made, and then the local authority where the adopters reside will have the responsibility in relation to any subsequent requests. This equally applies to another local authority where a child living in the district was Looked After prior to an adoption Order being made
Child is placed for adoption by another authority with a family who live in the Bradford Metropolitan District area,	The placing authority is responsible for the assessment of support needs for three years following the making of the Adoption Order
In non agency adoption (including Step parent Adoption) placements	The assessment must be by the local authority where the person making the request lives but this is discretionary
Inter-country /adopted form abroad	The assessment must be by the local authority where the person making the request lives

5. Post Assessment - Which Local Authority should Provide Support?

The local authority responsible for carrying out the assessment of need will propose how any identified support need may be provided where the adopters live.

The placing authority maintains responsibility for all payments that were agreed at the time of the placement. Thus where ongoing financial support and/or supporting contact arrangements have been agreed by Bradford before the Adoption Order was made, the responsibility to provide such support will remain with Bradford.

6. Process of Assessment for Adoption Support before an Order is made

In all cases where an assessment is required, the social worker should follow the guidance set out in the Assessment Framework. The assessment should take account of the Adoption context and, where the assessment relates to the child, all the developmental needs of the child should be considered. These will include health, education and emotional needs, and contact issues. The relevant education authority and health trust should be consulted as necessary.

6.1 Adoption

6.1.1 Consideration of Adoption Support Needs Leading to the Compilation of an Adoption Support Plan

The needs of all parties to adoption for support following placement and adoption must be borne in mind from the start of planning for adoption for the child. Consideration of support needs will evolve and strengthen from the earliest stages of planning for the child. The needs of the child's birth parents, other birth relatives, and other persons with whom the child has had a significant relationship must also be considered from the outset. Similarly, the adoptive parents will have been informed about adoption support services from their earliest contacts with the Adoption Team.

The stages at which adoption support needs will be considered in order to compile an Adoption Support Plan are:

i.	In respect of the child:
	At the preparation of the 'Referral for Adoptive Family' report - this will lead to an overview of the child's support needs once placed; When considering suitable families, and discussing these needs with the proposed families;
ii.	In respect of the prospective adopters:
	Will be informed about local authorities' statutory duty to assess for adoption support needs and the ensuing provision of support services in the Information Pack, at the Information Meeting, during Preparation Groups and Home Study. An explanation of the importance of adoption support will be given at these stages and an assessment will be made during the home study of the applicant's likelihood to request and use such services appropriately. When receiving information about a suitable child for placement. The implications of the support needs for the child and the adoptive family will form part of the discussions about the suitability of the match.
iii.	In respect of the birth parents, birth siblings of the child, other birth relatives and other persons whom the local authority considers the child has a significant relationship:
	When the review decision is made to proceed with an adoption plan, the birth parents will be informed of their right to independent counselling and given information and how to access this . This will enable an exploration of birth parents wishes and needs in respect of any proposed post adoption contact arrangements. However many parents do not take up this opportunity at this stage so the social worker for the child has a duty to explore this. It is the duty of the worker to begin to explore, and set out, the needs of any other birth relatives or significant others.

6.1.2 Preparation of Adoption Support Plan at the Time of Proposing a Placement

i.	An Adoption Support Plan will set out:
	The immediate and longer-term needs (as far as they can be ascertained at this point in time) ,of the child to be adopted , the adoptive family and the birth family (in relation to contact) .The child's needs will be set out under the five outcomes of Every Child Matters . The objectives of the plan and the key services to be provided The timescales for achieving the plan Those responsible for implementing the plan and the respective roles of others; what should be provided, when and by whom The procedures that will be put in place to review the services to be provided and the plan The criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the plan.
ii.	Person who must compile the Plan
	The child's and prospective adopters' social workers (plus family finder in the case of inter-agency placements) are responsible for compiling the Adoption Support Plan.
iii.	Consultations
	In completing the Plan, the guidance of an adoption support worker should be sought. An Adoption Team or Unit Manager must be consulted if there is a need for Financial Support other than the standard payments to which all adopters are entitled. See Placements for Adoption Procedure and Ongoing Payments in Respect of Adoption Support, Special Guardianship Support and Residence Order Allowance Guidance Where there may be a need for services from such agencies as a Primary Care Trust, CAMHS or Local Education Authority, the social worker must consult the relevant agency before preparing the plan. Liaison must take place with that local authority's adoption support services advisor in the situation where: A child is being placed with a family who have been approved by another adoption agency and live within the area of another local authority (e.g. inter-agency or consortium); A child is being placed with a family who have been approved by Bradford and live within area of another local authority. Where the child is to be placed in the area of another local authority, the agencies in that authority's area will need to be consulted as to what services may be available for adopters and adopted children. See Section 6.1.6, Children Placed in the Area of Another Local Authority below Adoption Support Services should not replicate or duplicate the mainstream services which may be available to an adoptive family. If there are difficulties in providing a multi-agency response, an adoption support worker should be consulted and may act as advocate, e.g. liaising with education and health in order to implement relevant support needs once a child is placed.

6.1.3 Prospective Adopters' Agreement

The Adoption Placement Report, incorporating the Adoption Support Plan, is given to the prospective adopters who have 10 working days from the date of the accompanying letter in which to consider all the proposals for the placement, including those relating to Adoption Support. Their comments are returned on a pro forma.

6.1.4 Consideration of the Proposed Placement by Adoption Panel and Agency Decision Maker

During the consideration of the proposed placement, the Plan and the prospective adopters' comments are taken into account by Panel who must consider and may advise on the Adoption Support Proposals. This advice will then be considered by the Agency Decision Maker. See Placements for Adoption Procedure.

6.1.5 Consideration of Adoption Support during Reviews and Visits Prior to Adoption

During the statutory reviews of the child in placement, consideration must be given to the arrangements for the provision of Adoption Support Services for the adoptive family and whether there should be any re-assessment of the need for those services. See Adoption Reviews Procedure.
Any assessment considered necessary at a Review, as a result of which a change in the Adoption Support Plan may be required, should be referred to the Adoption Support Manager for approval.
Any proposed changes relating to Financial Support will be referred to the Adoption Support Manager who may if necessary consult with the Service Manager Adoption & Fostering

6.1.6 Children Placed in the Area of Another Local Authority:

i	In the situation where a child is being placed with a family who live another local authority liaison must take place with the local authority's Adoption Support Services Adviser (ASSA) (or to an Adoption Support Service Manager nominated by the ASSA. This applies whether the adoptive family has either been approved by another adoption agency or by Bradford.
ii.	A letter must be sent to the Adoption Support Services Adviser (ASSA) in that authority (or to an Adoption Support Service Manager nominated by the ASSA) to inform them of the placement of the child. A pro forma is available for this purpose (to follow).
iii	A preliminary discussion with the nominated Adoption Support manager to ascertain details of: general adoption support services which are offered e.g. support groups more specialist adoption support services e.g. parenting strategies courses local knowledge of specialist provision (e.g. Child Development Unit)
iv.	The written agreement of the adopters should be obtained to refer them to the authority in which they live, especially if that authority is likely to offer a service from the outset of the placement, e.g. attendance at a support group. A pro forma is available for this purpose - see paragraph (ii) above.
v.	Any agreement by the local authority to offer services to the family should be confirmed in writing, along with any agreement by the placing local authority to fund a service offered by the receiving authority.
vi.	Where the receiving authority is actively involved in offering a service, consideration should be given to inviting a representative to the statutory Reviews of the child.

7. Referral for Adoption Support and Assessment of Need where there is an Adoption Order

This section refers to referrals for Adoption Support and Assessment of Need made at any time following the making of an Adoption Order.

This section should be read in conjunction with ' Practice Guidance on Assessing the Support Needs of Adoptive Families', Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Need for assessment:

The local authority is only required to assess a person in relation to the type(s) of service(s) that have to be extended to that person. See Section 2, Types of Adoption Support and Section 3, When to and who to Assess for the Need for Adoption Support. An assessment will not be required before providing advice and information.
Referral

Requests for Adoption support may be received by the Admin. Officer (Adoption Guardianship Support), a member of the Adoption Support Team or any worker who had previous involvement with the adoptive family or birth relative. Referral details will be completed by the Admin. Officer (Adoption Support).
Allocation

The Adoption Support Manager will consider allocation of the request and other factors such as urgency of response and the need to involve another service. Requests for assessment for adoption support should be passed to the Adoption Support Manager and, where necessary, the case will be allocated to an Adoption Support worker to undertake the assessment.
Timescale

Unless there is a situation of urgency requiring immediate allocation, a letter is sent to the person requesting the service, outlining the likely timescale for a response.
Assessment

The allocated worker will undertake the assessment by interview. Occasionally it may be undertaken by correspondence, for example, in relation to financial support.
Although the assessment may appear to centre round a specific issue, the adoption support worker must bear in mind the range of issues identified by the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need'. See the 'Practice Guidance on assessing the support needs of adoptive families' referred to at the beginning of this section.
1. An Initial Assessment must be completed within 7 working days of allocation;
2. A Core Assessment must be completed within 35 working days of its commencement.
3. Both an Initial and Core Assessment must look at the need for adoption support services.
  
  If
4. The assessing worker will usually need to interview the person being assessed - where this is a child, the adoptive parents will also need to be interviewed depending on the case and the age, understanding and wishes of the child. In any assessment the child should be seen. If it is not considered appropriate to interview the child, this should be discussed with the Adoption Support Manager and the reasons fully recorded.
The recommendations of the Assessment will be considered by the Adoption Support Manager whose signature to the form must be obtained.

8. The Adoption Support Plan in Relation to a Child who is Adopted

i.	The preparation of a 'Draft Adoption Support Plan' will follow from the completion of the Assessment Form. It will be prepared in consultation with other agencies where appropriate and with the Adoption Support Manager. The Plan (template available on Children's Shared Area, K drive) will set out:
	The objectives of the plan and the key services to be provided The timescales for achieving the plan Those responsible for implementing the plan and the respective roles of others; what should be provided, when and by whom The criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the plan The procedures that will be put in place to review the services to be provided and the plan.
ii.	Following completion of the Draft Adoption Support Plan, the following will be sent to the person(s) assessed: Two copies of the Draft Adoption Support Plan Notice to accompany Draft Adoption Support Plan. This notice (available on Children's Shared Area, K drive) will ask for both copies of the Plan to be signed and one copy to be returned to the Adoption & Fostering Unit within 28 days of the date of the Notice. (With regard to Financial Support only, where agreement to the proposals and terms and conditions of the Adoption Support Plan is given orally by the adoptive parents, they must confirm this in writing within 7 days. See Section 9, Financial Support) The person requesting the service may: Either: indicate their acceptance of the proposals contained in the Plan Or: indicate that they do not wish to accept the proposals and the reasons for this.
iii.	Such representations will be considered by the Adoption Support Manager. The decision as to the final contents of the revised Adoption Support Plan should take into account any representations made.
iv.	Where the service proposed is one-off, the notice of the outcome of the assessment will be sufficient to outline what is proposed and a draft plan will not be required.
v.	Where the person assessed is a child, and it is not appropriate to send the notice to the child, notices should be sent to the adoptive parent or the most appropriate adult.
vi.	Where there is an urgent need for support, the support can be provided before a Plan is drawn up but the above procedure should then be followed as soon as possible.
vii.	Adoption Support Services should not replicate or duplicate the mainstream services which may be available to the adoptive family. If there are difficulties in providing a multi-agency response, the adoption support worker should act as advocate, e.g. liaising with education and health on behalf of the adoptive family.
viii.	Existing Adoption Plan: In those cases where there is an existing Adoption Support Plan, the plan will be reviewed if a change in circumstances is brought to the notice of the local authority. The Adoption Support Manager will decide on the format and content of any such review, which will depend on the circumstances of the case. It may refer to only one element of the Plan or be relatively minor in which case an exchange of correspondence may be sufficient. (For annual reviews of Financial Support, see Section 9, Financial Support below).

9. Financial Support

Financial support is intended to supplement any existing means of support available to adoptive parents and the child or children being adopted. Adopters must be given advice regarding entitlements to benefits, tax credits and allowances, and these should be taken into account when considering amounts of financial support.

There are two forms of financial support that can be paid to Adoptive parents:

Ongoing Payments- these are regular payments made to support Adoption or Special Guardianship when the criteria for eligibility are met- see Ongoing Payments in Respect of Adoption Support, Special Guardianship Support and Residence Order Allowance Guidance
Exceptional payments in the form of time limited or single payments.

9.1 Circumstances when Financial Support can be made and Eligibility Criteria

There are number of criteria that must be satisfied

Where it is necessary to ensure that Adoptive parents can look after a child
Where the child needs special care which requires a greater expenditure of resources by reason of illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties or the continuing consequences of neglect - and the child's condition is serious and long-term;
Where it is necessary for the local authority to make any special arrangements to facilitate the placement or the adoption by reason of the age or ethnic origin of the child or the desirability of the child being placed with siblings or a child with whom he/she has previously shared a home;
Where such support is to meet the recurring costs of travel for visits for the child to members of the birth family/significant others
Where the local authority considers it appropriate to contribute towards expenditure associated with the start of the placement including:

legal costs, including Court fees (in cases where the plan is supported by the local authority),
expenses associated with the child's introduction to their Adopter expenditure on accommodating the child (e.g. adaptations to the home, furniture, clothing or transport).

In the case of Ongoing Payment- any of the criteria (i) - (iii) above must be met.

In the case of Exceptional Payment- any of (i) - (v) above must be met

9.2 Assessment for Financial Support

An assessment for financial support for a child who is adopted may be looked at as a single request or as part of a full assessment of adoption/ Special Guardianship support needs.

The amount of payment to Adoptive Parents will be determined by an assessment of their means. This will take account of the adopters' income and resources (excluding their home), reasonable outgoings and commitments, and the financial needs and resources of the child. (N.B. Support provided under Section 9.1, Circumstances when Financial Support can be made and Eligibility Criteria (v) will not be subject to an assessment of means.)

10. Adoption Support in Relation to Contact

For detailed information relating to Adoption Support and Contact, see Contact in Adoption Procedure

10.1

In achieving a placement, agreement may have been reached about direct contact between the child and a range of significant people. These may include the former foster carers, friends made whilst the child was in the foster home, a birth relative, a birth sibling or relative who is in another permanence placement. Once the child is placed, the child's and family's social workers, plus an Adoption Support worker where appropriate, must work alongside the birth parents/others to establish and support any such contact. Following the making of an Adoption Order, any party to a contact arrangement may request an assessment of need in relation to that arrangement.

10.2

Arrangements for Letterbox contact are usually set up as part of the matching and placement process. However, negotiations to establish such contact in later years may take place at the request of any of the parties. This may arise during an assessment for Adoption Support. The worker involved in assessing the need for support or providing a service may recommend a review of the indirect contact arrangements.

11. General Support to Adoptive Families

11.1	The agency offers a range of general support services to all the Adoptive families with whom it has placed children. It also offers the same range of services to Adopters who have had children placed with them by other adoption agencies/local authorities and who live within, or move to live within, the Bradford District , as long as it receives notification of their presence in the area. Prospective adopters are given information about adoption support at all stages of their assessment. Prospective adopters are informed about Adoption UK, the voluntary organisation run by and for adoptive families, and a membership leaflet is included in the Information Pack. One year's membership of Adoption UK is supplied by Bradford on the placement of a child.
11.2	When the Adoption/ Order is made the Adopters Guardians are reminded of the availability of a range of general support services and given the Adoption & Fostering Unit's leaflet on Adoption Support Services. If not already done so, the plans for a Letterbox exchange will be confirmed at this stage and the agreement formalised. Before or at the time of the making of the Adoption Order, the Adopter's worker must ensure that their details have been entered on the Adoption and Fostering Unit's database and ICS by the Admin. Officer (Adoption Support).
11.3	Mailings to adopters: A newsletter is produced at regular intervals and sent to all Adoptive families on the database who have indicated they would like to receive this service.
11.4	Annual Adoption Celebration: The Adoption and Fostering Unit provides an annual event for adoptive families to meet with each other and keep in touch with the Unit and adoption issues. Adopters may raise Adoption Support issues with workers present at the event.
11.5	Support and social groups for Adopters and their children may be offered by the Adoption Support service.

12. Adoption Support in Relation to Birth Parents and Relatives

12.1 Who may be considered for Adoption or Special Guardian support service:

i.	Birth parents are entitled to an assessment of need for the following Adoption support service:
	services to enable discussion of matters relating to adoption; assistance in relation to arrangements for contact; counselling, advice and information.
ii.	A relative (or someone with whom the local authority consider the child to have a beneficial relationship) is entitled to an assessment of need for the following services:
	Assistance in relation to arrangements for contact; Counselling, advice and information.
iii.	The birth sibling of a child who is Adopted is entitled to an assessment of need for the following services:
	Assistance in relation to arrangements for contact; Counselling, advice and information.

12.2 Stages when an Adoption Support service may be considered:

Consideration of potential Adoption support needs will initially be given at the time of the preparation of the Adoption Support plan see Section 6.1.2, Preparation of Adoption Support Plan at the time of Proposing a Placement.
At any time following the placement of the child or the making of the order, the birth parent, adopter, birth sibling or relative (or someone with whom the local authority consider the child to have a beneficial relationship) have a right to be assessed for services to assist any contact arrangements that are in place. The local authority where the Adopter Guardian lives is responsible for undertaking an assessment of need and the provision of any support services.
The above applies where child is under 18. After this, the agency has discretion to assess the birth parent, or other person if considered appropriate.

12.3 Services in relation to contact:

Anyone who has entered a direct or indirect contact agreement with an Adoptive family is entitled to ask the local authority for an assessment for the provision of a support service with regard to that contact. This may include a request for mediation if a difficulty has arisen in the contact arrangements. See Section 11, General Support to Adoptive Families above.

The services which the local authority may consider offering when assessing support needs are most likely to occur at the following stages:

Preparing for and arranging direct contact;
Preparing for and arranging indirect (Letterbox) contact;
Reviewing either of the above;
Responding to a new request regarding contact.

ii.

At the time of the decision to plan for the adoption of the child, the birth parents will have been informed of their right to independent counselling. If they have taken up this opportunity and derive support from the relationship with the counsellor, they may wish to involve that person in helping them to prepare for and undertake any Contact which has been agreed between themselves and the child. This contact may be statutory (under S26 before adoption or S8 following adoption) or by voluntary agreement between the parties

13. Roles and Responsibilities of Adoption Support and Fieldwork Units

Overview

There is a statutory requirement to provide Adoption Support Service to children who are adopted and their families. This group of children should also be regarded as having the same rights of access to safeguarding other welfare services as any other children in the community.

The Adoption Support service is limited and therefore there will be situations when the services of area fieldwork staff are required in order to ensure the child's welfare is fully assessed and supported.

There are a number of situations where young people who are adopted present with both Adoption support related needs and issues of potential risk either in terms of safeguarding or that the young person's care arrangements are at risk of disruption. The arrangements outlined below give guidance on the respective roles and responsibilities of both the area based fieldwork teams and the Adoption Support Service

Case Ownership

In those situations where both the Adoption Support Service and area staff are potentially involved, the issue of case ownership becomes crucial because it equates to decision-making responsibility.

There are a number of indicators suggesting an adoptive placement is either breaking down and / or there is a possibility of significant harm arising. For example:

Persistent parental request for removal
Negative attribution- the child is blamed for the family's difficulties
Physical abuse- threats or actual
Emotional abuse to the extent that it equates to significant harm
Disrupting adoption where there is no evidence of alternative support

Risk of significant harm or placement disruption:

This can be divided into 'non emergency' and 'emergency' situations.

1. Non emergency

Where the Adoption Support Service are working with a family and there are growing concerns that a child is becoming at risk of significant harm, or an adoption arrangement may be at increasing risk of disruption, the Adoption Support Service case holder will undertake a core assessment of the overall situation and the child's needs.

At the conclusion to this assessment it may be necessary to consider the involvement of an area team due to the severity of concerns regarding the child's welfare and the lack, or inappropriateness, of alternative resources. If this is the case the Adoption Support Service manager will liaise with their relevant area SCM counterpart (CFT for children under 11yrs, YPFT for those 11yrs and over) to arrange a strategy discussion. The assessment will be presented and the managers will agree about the involvement of the area team.

Up to that point case responsibility will continue to have been held by Adoption Support Service. If an area team is to become involved then case responsibility will passed to the area team. The Adoption Support Service may very well continue their involvement and support alongside the incoming area team.

Agreement must be reached between the teams regarding responsibility for updating ICS.

2. Emergency

Where concerns arise that a child within a family being supported by Adoption Support Service may be at immediate risk of significant harm, warranting a Section 47 investigation, or an adoption arrangement appears to be at immediate risk of disruption, potentially warranting the child becoming Looked After, these crises should be investigated by the local area Assessment Team.

The Adoption Support Service manager will approach their assessment SCM counterpart and agree the involvement of that team to undertake a core assessment of immediate risk. The ASSGS will remain the case holder during this period of assessment. If, at the conclusion to the assessment, the concerns are substantiated, warranting the continued involvement of an area team, the case would pass to either the local CFT or YPFT as would have happened with any other similar case which had originated within the area.

Case responsibility will shift, at that point, to the relevant area team.

Decision Making

Within both the above scenarios, any decision regarding a child becoming Looked After, or a child becoming the subject of a Child Protection Case Conference, rests with Care Management. It is recognised that it is outside the remit of Adoption Support Service to have responsibility for such decisions although, given their involvement with the families, they will play a crucial role in advising the decision making process.

Where an adopted young person is at risk of becoming Looked After the matter will normally be presented to the Family Support Panel. The area worker will be responsible for making the application and completing the relevant documentation. It is expected that both the area worker and the Adoption Support Service worker will attend panel together, as each will have a significant role to play in reaching appropriate decisions about the welfare of the child.

Area Team Case with Request for Adoption Support Service Involvement

Where a local fieldwork team is involved with a child who has been adopted and their assessment indicates a need for possible Adoption Support Service involvement, the Adoption Support Service Manager should be initially contacted for consultation. A strategy discussion will be held if the involvement of an Adoption Support Service Worker is indicated. This will determine roles and responsibilities:

Where there are ongoing issues of risk management or placement breakdown the Area will maintain case responsibility with an Adoption Support Service Worker undertaking an assessment of the particular adoption support needs of the situation and contributing as appropriate.
Where there are ongoing child in need issues that require addressing through multi-agency input, case responsibility will remain with the Area Team with the Adoption Support Service Worker making a contribution as described in (1) above.
Where the issues appear to be related to adoption support needs and there are no areas of risk or complex multi-agency intervention that require fieldwork management, then Adoption Support Service will assume case responsibility.

End