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4.10.5 Adoption Reviews

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter describes the reviews, monitoring and support of an adoptive placement until the making of an Adoption Order. 

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was slightly updated in July 2011


Contents

  1. Frequency of Review
  2. Preparation for the Review
  3. The Review
  4. Visits to the Placement
  5. Concerns Regarding the Placement
  6. The Ending of an Adoptive Placement Prior to an Adoption Order being made 
  7. Reports back to Panel


1. Frequency of Review

Arrangements for the review of adoption placements must be made so that a review is held:

  • Within 4 weeks of the placement
  • Not more than 3 months after the first review and at least every 6 months thereafter, until an Adoption Order has been made or the child is returned by the agency
  • Reviews should be held until an Adoption Order is made.


2. Preparation for the Review

2.1 The Adoption Review, including a review of the Adoption Support Plan, will be held under the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and supersedes the requirement to hold a Looked After Review. The child’s social worker is responsible for convening the review and should ensure that all relevant parties - the child (if old enough), the prospective adopters, their link social worker and any other person considered relevant after discussion with the Independent Reviewing Officer - are invited. The Independent Reviewing Officer must be given copies of the Adoption Placement Report and Adoption Placement Plan in advance of the first Review.  In relation to the child’s parents, although there is no requirement to invite the birth parents to attend and it will usually not be appropriate to do so, the Independent Reviewing Officer may ask the social worker to ascertain the parent’s wishes and include these in the report for the Review.  Similarly with other relevant people, the Independent Reviewing Officer may ask the social worker to ascertain and report their views to the review rather than invite them to attend.
2.2 In the case of inter-agency placements, consideration should be given to whether the family finder or a worker from the adoption support team  might be required to attend for a discussion concerning any arrangements that have been made for Adoption Support. Where the authority in which the prospective adopters live is actively involved in offering a service, consideration should also be given to inviting a representative to the Adoption Review.
2.3 For all Adoption Reviews, the child’s social worker must prepare a report, covering the areas listed in Section 3.2 and incorporating the views of the child, the prospective adopters, the prospective adopters’ link social worker, the birth parents or family members (in appropriate cases) and any other relevant person (see Section 3.1). The report should also include details of the dates of visits since the last Review, who conducted the visit and who was seen on each visit. The report should be circulated to all invitees at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.


3. The Review

3.1 As part of the Review, the Independent Reviewing Officer must as far as reasonably practicable ascertain the views of the child (having regard to his or her age and understanding), the prospective adopters and any other person the agency considers relevant. This may include the child’s parent or guardian where appropriate. Relevant others may be, for example, other children living in the prospective adopter’s home, anyone having contact with the child, the child’s health visitor, therapist or teacher.
3.2

The review will consider and evaluate the adoption placement in terms of meeting the child’s needs and the objectives set at each Review and in particular consider the following areas:

  1. The child’s needs, welfare and development and whether any changes are needed to meet these needs
  2. Evidence of the child’s attachment to the prospective adopters
  3. Development of relationship with other members of the household, and their views
  4. Any regression in the child’s development since the placement
  5. Observations of any grieving process in relation to the previous carers
  6. Any direct work being undertaken or required
  7. The child’s health (including arrangements for the child’s medical and dental care) and developmental needs
  8. The child’s educational progress
  9. The Adoption Support Plan (including financial support) and whether the arrangements should continue or be altered or reassessed.
  10. The arrangements for the exercise of Parental Responsibility in the placement and whether they should continue or be altered
  11. The contact arrangements and whether they should continue or be altered
  12. Whether any direct meetings with birth relatives or significant others need to be undertaken
  13. The timing of the ‘Later in Life Letter’ and Life Book to be given from the social worker to the child
  14. Any concerns
  15. Any outstanding Court proceedings
  16. The timing of the adoption application
  17. Responsibility for providing Court reports
  18. Frequency of visits and by whom until the next Review
  19. Whether the agency remains satisfied that the child should remain placed for adoption
  20. Date for next review
3.3 The Review will usually take place, with the agreement of the prospective adopters, at the adoptive home.
3.4 The outcome of the Review should be recorded by the Independent Reviewing Officer and sent to the child (depending on age), the child’s social worker, the prospective adopters and the Adoption Team.  The child’s social worker must ensure that a record of the Review outcome is placed on the child’s Adoption Case Record.  The child’s social worker and Independent Reviewing Officer should also consider whether and how to notify the birth parents of the outcome.  This can provide an opportunity for the prospective adopters together with the child’s social worker to write to the birth parents and would thus be a way of helping prospective adopters to practice writing such a letter of information as part of the completion of Letterbox arrangements after the making of an Adoption Order.
3.5 The child’s social worker must notify the Independent Reviewing Officer immediately once an Adoption Order is made.


4. Visits to the Placement

4.1

Initial arrangements for and frequency of visits for supervising the placement must be made at the Placement Planning Meeting and set out in the Adoption Placement Plan - see Planning for Adoptive Placements Procedure.  Each Adoption Review following placement will then determine the arrangements for and frequency of visits until the next Review.

The visits will involve at a minimum:

  • The child’s social worker or prospective adopter’s link social worker visiting the child within the first week of the placement and then weekly until the first review
  • Thereafter, the frequency of visits will be determined at the child’s Adoption Review. 
4.2

The child’s social worker is primarily responsible for seeing the child as this worker is more likely than the prospective adopter’s link social worker to have developed a relationship with the child over a period of time. The prospective adopter’s link social worker is primarily responsible for supporting the family. Visits will therefore be apportioned according to the needs of the family and child.  In addition, the two workers may make joint visits.

Where there are any concerns, additional visits should be arranged.
4.3 In the case of inter-agency placements (local authority or voluntary agency) which are a considerable distance from Bradford, consideration will need to be given to the visiting arrangements for the monitoring and support to the placement from both agencies; notably the child's social worker and the worker for the prospective adopters . This discussion must form part of the planning for the placement and details must be set out in the Adoption Placement Report and Adoption Placement Plan.  As the placement progresses, each Review will consider the current needs of the child and family and a decision made as to the most appropriate agency and worker to provide any identified support.
4.4 Visits must be made by suitably experienced qualified social workers or social workers/student social workers who are supervised by suitably qualified and experienced social workers - see Section 5, Adoption Panel Procedure. In the case of inter-agency placements which are a considerable distance from Bradford, the visits may be shared by the child’s social worker and a suitably qualified worker from the prospective adopters’ agency or the local authority in which the adopters live.
4.5 The child should be seen alone (if appropriate according to his or her age and understanding) at all of the visits, whether undertaken by the child’s social worker or the prospective adopters’ link social worker, and his or her wishes and feelings recorded.
4.6

The social worker will monitor the progress of the placement, with attention to the following matters:

  • all necessary steps are being taken to meet the child’s health, developmental and educational needs, as identified by the Adoption Placement Report and Adoption Placement Plan, and as updated at Reviews;
  • how the child is settling and how the child and family are adjusting to each other;
  • any child-care issues arising from the prospective adopter’s employment or plans to return to employment;
  • any issues arising from shared Parental Responsibility.  Do the current arrangements need any alterations?
  • The setting up and any implementation of any indirect or direct contact arrangements and a meeting with the birth parents where advisable;
  • guidance on explaining adoption to the child and use of the Life-letter and Life Book; 
  • the timing of an application for an Adoption Order;
  • any Adoption Support issues, including financial support - see Adoption and Support Services Procedures. In the case of inter-agency placements, the Review will consider any needs of the child and family which may necessitate an approach to the local authority in which the family lives, or which may be met by the agency which approved them.
4.7 Records of all visits must be made and copies placed on the child’s Adoption Case Record.  Between visits, the social workers involved must discuss progress in the placement and read each other’s recording of visits during the monitoring period. 
4.8 The visits should continue until an Adoption Order has been made or until the placement is terminated.


5. Concerns Regarding the Placement

5.1 Where there are concerns that the placement is not meeting the needs of the child, or of its viability, a planning meeting should be convened.  The meeting should consider and identify the difficulties and consider whether any support can be provided to address the situation.  Unless there are exceptional circumstances, i.e. immediate child protection concerns and significant risk, no decision to move a child from a placement shall take place without a formal Adoption Review having taken place.  If an application has been made for an Adoption Order, the child cannot be removed from the placement without leave of the Court. In such circumstances, legal advice should be sought as soon as possible and prior to any action being taken. See also Section 7, Planning for Adoptive Placements Procedures .
5.2 Allegations or suspicions that a prospective adopter has caused Significant Harm to a child will be investigated thoroughly, speedily and sensitively under those procedures and will involve open and honest communication with and support to all those affected.  See Allegations Against Prospective Adopters Procedures


6. The Ending of an Adoptive Placement Prior to an Adoption Order being made

See Section 7, Planning for Adoptive Placements Procedures


7. Report Back to Panel

  1. If 12 months has elapsed since the child was placed and the child has not yet been made the subject of an application to adopt, a report will be required for Adoption Panel 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.
  2. The process is:
    1. The Admin Officer (Adoption) will send the Report-back form ‘Report back to Panel - child’ to the child’s social worker and prospective adopters’ link social worker for a joint report to be prepared for Panel. 
    2. The paperwork will be submitted in the same way as other documents for Panel. The workers will not be required to attend Panel.
  3. Following Panel, the minutes of the Panel discussion and outcome will be placed on the child’s and prospective adopters’ Adoption Case Records. 

End