Placement for Adoption

Section 22C of the Children Act 1989 (amended by the Children and Families Act 2014)) imposes upon local authorities a duty that where:

• They are considering adoption for a child (this can be at an early stage, and can be before a decision has been made by the Agency Decision Maker that the child should be place for adoption); or
• They are satisfied that the child ought to be placed for adoption, but do not yet have authority to place the child for adoption (either by way of parental consent or by way of Placement Order).

Then the local authority MUST consider placing the child with:

• (Firstly) a relative, friend or Connected Person who is also a local authority foster carer; or
• Where they decide that a placement with such a person is not the most appropriate placement for the child, they must consider placing the child with a local authority foster carer who has been approved as a prospective adopter (a 'dually approved carer').

Not all cases are referred to the Adoption Panel. Cases where the criteria apply for the local authority to apply for a Placement Order, i.e. the child is the subject of a Care Order or the Threshold Criteria for a Care Order are satisfied or where there is no parent or guardian, will not be referred to the Adoption Panel for a recommendation, but will be referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker for a decision. All other cases (i.e. where the parents have given consent and there is no application for a Placement Order) will continue to be referred to the Adoption Panel for a recommendation, which the Agency Decision Maker will take into account when making a decision.

As soon as adoption is the Permanence Plan for the child, the child's social worker must:

• Arrange a date for the case to be referred to the Adoption Panel (where the parents have given consent and there is no application for a Placement Order) / Agency Decision Maker (in all other cases).
  
  

  This date must be a maximum of 2 months from the date when the adoption plan was ratified at the child's Looked After Child Review;

• Continue to provide counselling for the child - see Section 3, Preparation of Child for Adoption.

The child's social worker should give both birth parents written information on adoption and ask them to sign confirmation of receipt, a copy of which should be kept on the child's Adoption Case Record and a further copy should be handed to the parents.

If either or both of the birth parents refuse to accept or do not receive the information, this should be recorded, with reasons, on the child's case record and Adoption Case Record. Where the parents' address is known, the child's social worker should personally deliver or arrange for delivery by hand of a copy of the information to the address and record this on the Adoption Case Record. See also Section 4, Counselling, Support and Information Sharing for Parents.

The child's social worker must ensure that the adoption plan addresses the issue of post-placement and post-adoption contact. This will include a possible meeting between the parents and the adopters, and whether there may be ongoing direct contact or indirect contact via a letterbox system - see Section 6, Post-Placement Contact.

Using all the information obtained in relation to the above, the child's social worker must prepare the Child's Permanence Report. The Child's Permanence Report must be written by the social worker who knows the child best, who must also be a qualified social worker with suitable experience (see Adoption Panel Procedure).

The following areas must be included or addressed in the Report:

• Profile of the child, based on a report from the child's current carer as well as other information about the child's personality, nationality, racial origin, religious persuasion, legal status and relationship with their birth family;
• A summary, written by the agency's medical adviser, of the state of the child's health, health history and any need for health care which might arise in the future (Regulation 17 Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005);
• The child's wishes in relation to the adoption plan, and their preferred method of communication;
• A chronology of the child's life since birth;
• The preparation work, undertaken and planned, with the child and the views of the child in relation to the adoption plan and future contact with their birth family;
• The views of the Children's Guardian (where possible);
• The views of the birth family and significant others in relation to the adoption plan and contact and their opportunity to receive and comment on the report before the report is presented to Adoption Panel;
• A report of the child's educational history and current needs, including the Personal Education Plan (PEP);
• Any other relevant specialist reports on the child;
• An assessment of the child's emotional and behavioural development;
• An assessment of the child's needs for post-placement and post-adoption contact, including with siblings, and the child's and birth relatives' needs for adoption support services;
• A chronology of the decisions and actions taken by the agency with respect to the child;
• An analysis of the options for the child's future care and the alternatives to adoption considered. This must be a balanced view and where experts' assessments are available, their contents and recommendations - even if not supportive of the adoption plan - should be included;
• Where the child has siblings, whether the decision is to place siblings separately or together and the rationale for the decision;
• Any other information which the agency considers relevant.

2.14

Presentation to the Adoption Panel

See paragraph 2.1 for circumstances when the case will be referred to the Adoption Panel, and when the case will be referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker. Where cases are referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker, paragraph 2.14 does not apply and the procedure is set out in Section 2.15, Referral directly to Agency Decision Maker.

To enable the Adoption Panel to consider whether the child is suitable to be placed for adoption, the child's social worker must present the following reports:

1. A front sheet stating what is being reported, the reports included;
2. The Child's Permanence Report (including the Medical Adviser's comments) signed by the child's social worker, the manager and the parent (if willing), and a photograph of the child, together with the parents' written comments (if any);
3. The child's health report and the health information obtained in relation to the parents (where the Medical Adviser so advises);
4. Legal advice about parental consent and the option of seeking a Placement Order;
5. Where experts' assessments are available (including where they have been filed in Court proceedings), their contents and recommendations - even if not supportive of the adoption plan - should be presented to the Panel / Agency Decision Maker. This will usually be in summary form within the Child's permanence Report but in appropriate cases the full report/s should be presented.

The child's social worker will send the relevant reports to the Panel Administrator at least 17 working days before the relevant date of the Adoption Panel.

The child's social worker together with their manager if appropriate will attend the Panel meeting during consideration of the matter. Where a Children's Guardian has been appointed, consideration should be given to inviting the Children's Guardian to the Panel during consideration of this item; however, there is no requirement upon the Panel to allow the children's guardian to attend the Panel and make oral submissions. The report of the Children's Guardian must not be disclosed without the leave of the court.

(N.B. Where the social worker is seeking a recommendation in relation to a proposed placement of the child with particular prospective adopters at the same time, the procedure set out in Section 8, Approval of Matching of Adoption Parents must also be followed.)

The Panel will consider the written reports and any additional information presented verbally. The Panel will make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker. Where the Panel recommends that the child should be placed for adoption, it must consider and may give advice as to future contact arrangements for the child and whether an application for a Placement Order should be made.

The recommendation and advice will be recorded in writing, together with reasons, in the Panel's minutes. A copy of the relevant minute must be held on the child's Adoption Case Record.

For cases which are presented to the Adoption Panel, the final minutes must be produced promptly and agreed by the Panel members and then sent to the Agency Decision Maker, together with the reports considered by the Panel, to allow the decision to be made within 7 working days of receipt of the panel's recommendation and final set of panel minutes.

The Agency Decision Maker must record their decision in writing, together with reasons.

2.15

Referral directly to Agency Decision Maker

See paragraph 2.1 for circumstances when the case will be referred to the Adoption Panel, and when the case will be referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker.

Where cases are to be referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker for a decision, a time should be booked with the Agency Decision Maker for the decision to be made and this should be a maximum of 2 months from the date when the adoption plan was ratified at the child's Looked After Child Review. In order for the decision to be made within this timescale, the Agency Decision Maker should be sent the same reports and information as would be submitted to the Adoption Panel, as set out in Section 2.14, Presentation to the Adoption Panel.

The child's social worker will send the relevant reports to the Agency Adviser at least 10 working days before the relevant date booked with the Agency Decision Maker.

The Agency Adviser will be responsible for checking the quality of the reports before they are submitted to the Agency Decision Maker.

In making the decision the Agency Decision Maker may discuss the case with the Agency Adviser, Medical Adviser and legal adviser. However, there is no provision for adjourning the decision to allow time for taking advice. NB The Agency Decision Maker is expressly prohibited from referring a case to the Adoption Panel for advice.

The principles of the decision-making should be as set out in Section 5, Agency Decision Maker of the Adoption Panel Procedure.

2.16

After the Decision

The parents will be informed orally of the agency's decision within 2 working days and written confirmation should be sent to them within 5 working days. These arrangements will be made by the Agency Decision Maker in conjunction with the child's social worker.

The letter setting out the agency decision will be sent by recorded delivery, except where delivery by hand has been agreed as appropriate, in which case the letter will be forwarded to the social worker for delivery by hand. The child's social worker will also ensure that the child is informed of the decision in a timely and age-appropriate way.

In cases where the case has been presented to the Adoption Panel and the decision is different from the Panel's recommendation, a copy of the Panel minute should also be sent to the parents.

The child's social worker will ensure that Life Story Work with the child continues with the aim as far as possible that:

• The child has an understanding of the reasons for the adoption plan and what adoption will mean;
• The child has an opportunity to express their wishes and feelings about the future; and
• The child has information on their birth family, which is kept safe and provided to the adopters and the child at the appropriate time.

As part of the above, the child will be given a Children's Guide to Adoption as soon as adoption is part of the child's Care Plan. Any information given to the child should be confirmed in writing and any discussions with the child should be fully recorded. The child's preferred method of communication should be known and there should be no assumption that a child is unable to communicate. An interpreter should be arranged where necessary to ensure that there is effective communication with the child.

The social worker should specifically ensure that the child's wishes in relation to adoption, religious and cultural upbringing and contact with their birth family are ascertained.

Where a child's wishes are not acted upon, for example a child's wish to be placed with their siblings, this should be explained to the child, with reasons, and should be fully recorded.

The Adoption Team has a library of books which can be used with children of various ages to help social workers with this task.

Once an adoptive placement has been identified and approved, the child's social worker is responsible for ensuring the child is properly prepared for the first meeting with the prospective adoptive family and is appropriately counselled during the period of introductions - see Section 9, Planning the Placement.

As part of the preparation of the child for the adoptive placement, information will be provided to ensure that they have has a proper understanding about the accommodation and others living at the prospective adoptive home, the contact arrangements with the birth family and how to contact their social worker.

4.1

Counselling and Support for Parents

If either or both of the birth parents refuse to accept or do not receive the written information, this should be recorded, including the reasons, on the child's case file and Adoption Case Record.

Where the parents' address is known, the child's social worker should personally deliver or arrange for delivery by hand of a copy of the information to the address and record this on the Adoption Case Record.

The counselling and support will cover the following areas:

1. Explaining the key stages of the adoption process and likely time-scales;
2. Explaining, where appropriate, the procedure for seeking a Placement Order;
3. Explaining the parents' legal rights, including to apply for a Contact Order, the right of the unmarried father to seek a Parental Responsibility Order or a Child Arrangements Order in relation to the child;
4. Explaining the role of the Adoption Panel / Agency Decision Maker;
5. Explaining the role of CAFCASS in witnessing consent or acting as the Children's Guardian;
6. Explaining the way the Adoption Contact Register works and how an adopted adult may seek information about the birth family in the future or register a wish not to be contacted;
7. Explaining how prospective adoptive parents are assessed;
8. Ascertaining the parents' views on the adoption plan, including the selection of the adoptive family, any specific ethnic, cultural or religious needs of the child, and any plan to separate a sibling group. Their views on these issues should be recorded;
9. Dealing with grief and loss;
10. Where there is parental consent to the adoption, explaining the process for giving their written consent to an adoptive placement or advance consent to the adoption (including the role of CAFCASS), their right to state that they do not wish to be informed of an adoption application, and that they have the right to withdraw their consent to an adoptive placement at any time up to the making of an adoption application, but the restriction of their rights to do so after an adoption application has been made;
11. Ascertaining the parents' views on post-placement and post-adoption contact including whether they would wish to meet the adoptive family and if so, how they might prepare for this;
12. Providing information to the parents on national and local support groups, and other possible sources of help;
13. Explaining how the parents may be able to provide information to be passed to adopters, for example, on the child's birth and early life, which may be of benefit to the child.

As soon as the adoption plan becomes part of the child's Care Plan, the child's social worker should write to the Medical Adviser regarding an adoption medical for the child. The Medical Adviser should be asked for advice on whether a full developmental medical is required and if so, who should conduct the medical and whether any tests or opinions are required. (In some cases, the Medical Adviser may consider that there is already sufficient up-to-date health information on the child and a further medical examination is not required).

Note that Regulation 15 Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 provides that arrangements must be made for the child to be examined by a registered medical practitioner and for a report on the child's health to be obtained on the state of the child's health, any treatment which the child is receiving, any need for health care and the matters listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations:

1. Name, date of birth, sex, weight and height;
2. A neo-natal report on the child, including:
   1. Details of their birth and any complications;
   2. The results of a physical examination and screening tests;
   3. Details of any treatment given;
   4. Details of any problem in management and feeding;
   5. Any other relevant information which may assist the adoption panel and the adoption agency; and
   6. The name and address of any registered medical practitioner who may be able to provide further information about any of the above matters.
3. A full health history of the child, including:
   1. Details of any serious illness, disability, accident, hospital admission or attendance at an out-patient department, and in each case any treatment given;
   2. Details and dates of immunisations;
   3. A physical and developmental assessment according to age, including an assessment of vision and hearing and of neurological, speech and language development and any evidence of emotional disorder;
   4. For a child over five years of age, the school health history (if available);
   5. How their physical and mental health and medical history have affected their physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development; and
   6. Any other relevant information which may assist the adoption panel and the adoption agency.

A Child's Health Report must be obtained unless:

1. The Medical Adviser has given advice that such an examination and report is unnecessary; or
2. The child is of sufficient understanding to make an informed decision and refuses to submit to the examination or other tests.

The child's social worker should write to the Medical Adviser requesting a medical for the child and at the same time inform the Medical Adviser when Forms B and M were requested.

The procedure needs to be started without delay so that the adoption medical can be arranged; the adoption medical must take place before the child's plan for adoption is considered at the Adoption Panel and/or by the Agency Decision Maker, (unless the Medical Adviser has advised it unnecessary - see paragraph 5.1 above). In cases which are presented to the Panel for consideration of whether the child is suitable to be placed for adoption (see paragraph 2.1), the Medical Adviser must be in a position to advise the Panel of the child's health needs.

Post-placement and post-adoption contact may take the following forms:

1. Adoptive parents providing non-identifying information about the child to the birth family through letter-box contact organised and maintained by the adoption service (one way indirect contact);
2. Adoptive parents and the birth family sharing non-identifying information about themselves through letter-box contact organised and maintained by the adoption service (two way indirect contact);
3. Direct letter box and/or telephone contact between the adoptive parents and the birth family;
4. Direct face-to-face contact between the child and the birth family, which may be organised and maintained by the adoption service, where such continuing support is appropriate.

Where post-placement and post-adoption contact is considered to be in the child's interests, it should be part of the information shared with prospective adoptive parents during the matching process - see Section 7, Identification of Adoptive Parents and also part of the planning of the placement - see Section 9, Planning the Placement.

When making an Adoption Order, or at any time afterwards, the court may (upon application or on its own initiative) make an order for contact with, or an order prohibiting contact with, the person(s) named in the order. Such orders have effect until the child's 18th birthday, unless revoked sooner.

An order for contact requires the adopter to allow the child to visit, stay with or otherwise have contact with, the person named in the order.

The following people may be named in an order:

• The child;
• The Agency;
• Any person who (but for the child's adoption) would be related to the child by blood (including half-blood), marriage or civil partnership;
• Any former guardian of the child;
• Any person who had Parental Responsibility for the child immediately before the making of the Adoption Order;
• Any person with whom the child has lived for a period of at least 1 year (this period need not be continuous, but must be within the last 5 years);
• Any person who had a previous order for contact under Children Act 1989, which order ceased to have effect upon the agency being authorised to place the child for adoption;
• Any person who had a Child Arrangements Order (previously Residence Order) immediately before the agency was authorised to place the child for adoption;
• Any person who had care of the child under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court immediately before the agency was authorised to place the child for adoption.

The adopters or the child may apply without the leave of the court, whilst any other person, including the child's birth parents and other birth relatives, e.g. grandparents or siblings, would need the court's leave to apply.

In deciding whether to grant leave to apply, the court must consider:

• Any risk there might be of the proposed application disrupting the child's life to such an extent that they would be harmed by it (within the meaning of the 1989 Act);
• The applicant's connection with the child; and
• Any representations made to the court by the child and/or the adopter / prospective adopter.

Orders may contain directions about how they are to take effect, or may be made subject to such conditions as the court thinks appropriate.

The court will issue a timetable and directions with the aim of resolving the application without delay.

• Applications prohibiting contact are unlikely to be necessary in the majority of cases and are only likely to be appropriate to stop unwanted, unsolicited and potentially harmful contact with the child, or to prevent such contact happening;
• The circumstances in which a birth parent, relative or other person are most likely to seek the court's leave to apply for an order for contact after adoption are where an agreement for some form of continuing contact had been made, but was not adhered to.

The child's social worker and the family finder will address the following issues:

1. The preparation of the child's profile and to identify any other information about the child, which is needed in order to identify a suitable family;
2. To consider who should undertake the preparation of the child, and to determine how the child may be involved in and express views about the process of finding a family;
3. To discuss parental involvement in the placement process (and parental consent to advertising, if applicable);
4. To agree that the social worker will keep Legal Services informed of developments and seek the Court's leave to advertising where Court proceedings are ongoing;
5. To consider whether or not the child's current carer would be appropriate as a prospective permanent placement - if so, see paragraph 7.11;
6. To plan the family finding work, giving consideration to the availability of in-house approved families, the opportunity of an inter-agency placement, and advertising for families in the national, local and ethnic media. To agree time-scales for the family finding work including the holding of progress meetings. (Note: If the prospective adopter can meet most of the child's needs, the social worker must not delay placing a child with the prospective adopter because they are single, older than other adopters or does not share the child's racial or cultural background).
   
   The child's social worker, current foster carer and the family finder will complete the child's profile, identifying the child's needs in relation to a new family, including ethnicity, culture, religion, language, contact with birth family and existing networks, education, health, other special needs and location, and the qualities required in the adoptive family, based on the child's identified placement needs. The profile should identify which needs are essential and which preferred.
   
   Where the profile indicates the child should not be placed locally, there should also be a written risk assessment to support this conclusion.

The family finder will consider whether there are any potentially suitable in-house approved families (including families going through the assessment process) by sharing the child's profile with the Adoption Service and reading copies of any available Prospective Adopter's Reports.

Where foster carers express an interest in adopting a child placed with them, see paragraph 7.11.

The purpose of the meeting is to consider the available in-house approved potential families, and decide which appears the best able to meet the child's needs. The meeting should also consider:

• The preparation of the child, the present carers and the prospective adopters for the proposed placement, including the sharing of information with the prospective adopters;
• The preparation of the birth family and the information to be given;
• The allocation of preparatory tasks for the introductory work;
• The proposed Adoption Support Plan and any proposed contact arrangements;
• The designated roles and responsibilities for completing the Adoption Placement Report and the proposed Adoption Support Plan.

Ethnicity must not be placed above everything else when identifying potential adopters for children.

It is unacceptable for a child to be denied adoptive parents solely on the grounds that the child and prospective adopter do not share the same racial or cultural background.

If a prospective adopter can meet most of the child's needs, but, for example they do not share the child's racial or cultural background, the core issue is what qualities, experiences and attributes the prospective adopter can draw on and their level of understanding of the discrimination and racism the child may be confronted with when growing up, at both an individual and institutional level. A prospective adopter can be matched with a child with whom they do not share the same ethnicity, if they can respect, reflect or actively develop a child's racial identity from the point they are matched and as they develop throughout their childhood. The prospective adopter needs to demonstrate that they fully understand that having a child from a different ethnic group will present a number of challenges, not least that there may be visible differences that can affect a child's self-esteem and increase their possible feelings of difference. For example, the child may have to deal with questions from their peers about why they are 'different' to their family.

As a result of the Children and Families Act 2014, adoption agencies no longer have to give due consideration to a child's religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background when matching a child and prospective adopters.

When a child has developed a sense of their culture or religion, and where they have already begun to speak a language other than English, it is important to find prospective adopters who, while not necessarily sharing any of these, are willing and able to help the child develop these important elements of their future identity.

Where foster carers express an interest in writing in adopting a child they are looking after, and there is an adoption plan for the child, the family finder will talk to them about the implications of adoption and will convene a Professionals Meeting involving the child's social worker, their line manager and the foster carers' supervising social worker (with their line manager where appropriate). The chair of the meeting will be the Adoption Manager or their nominee. If the outcome of the meeting is that the foster carers appear to be able to meet the child's essential needs, the case will be allocated for an assessment of the foster carers as adopters to proceed (see Recruitment, Assessment and Approval of Prospective Adopters Procedure).

If they are approved as adopters, the requirements set out in Section 8, Approval of Matching of Adoptive Parents as to the approval of the matching and in Section 10, The Placement as to the provision of information and notification of the placement must be followed.

If the outcome of the meeting is that the foster carers are not able to meet the child's essential needs, the recruitment of adopters as set out in the preceding and following paragraphs of this chapter will apply. The foster carers' supervising worker will provide support and counselling to the foster carers as appropriate.

If the foster carers decide to proceed with an application to adopt the child without the agreement of the agency, the procedure set out in Non-Agency Adoptions will apply.

7.13

Inter Agency Placements

The Adoption Manager will ensure that consideration is given to all options for placement which will include referrals to the Regional Adoption Agency Family Finding meeting and Link Maker according to the identified needs of the child. It should be borne in mind that the most suitable family may be one that has been approved by another agency.

Where it is considered that a placement of the child with overseas adopters would be appropriate, see Section 12, Adoptive Placements Abroad.

Where recruitment of adopters from another agency has been authorised, the family finder will undertake the following:

• Check that either the parents (for an Accommodated child) and/or the child's social worker's manager have signed the Consent to Publicity Form and/or the Court's leave has been granted where Court proceedings are ongoing;
• Arrange for photographs to be taken of the child for publicity purposes;
• Agree with the child's social worker which publications are to be used for publicity purposes, and draw up suitable profiles.

Responses from families not yet approved should be dealt with as follows:

1. Take details of the family;
2. Give limited, anonymised information about the child, in order to help the caller decide whether this is a situation they wish to pursue;
3. Give general information about the adoption and family finding process, bearing in mind that the caller has not gone through the assessment and preparation process;
4. Arrange a more appropriate time to hold or continue the discussion, as appropriate;
5. If, on the basis of the discussions held, it is not considered appropriate, having regard to the needs of the child, to pursue the response, the caller should be advised of the decision, with reasons, and provided with contact details of other agencies which may be of help to them.

Responses from already approved families should be dealt with as follows:

1. Take details of the family;
2. Give limited, anonymised information about the child, in order to help the caller decide whether this is a situation they wish to pursue;
3. Give general information about how the family finding is being conducted, bearing in mind that the family's own agency may approach this in a different way;
4. If, on the basis of the discussions held, it is not considered appropriate, having regard to the needs of the child, to pursue the response, the caller should be advised of the decision, with reasons;
5. If the family is considered suitable, their details and the names of their agency and link worker should be taken. The family should be asked to inform their link worker of their approach to the borough and that the family finder will contact the link worker;
6. The family finder should then contact the family's link worker and share information about the child and the family. Where it is considered that the match is not appropriate, the family's link worker should be asked to discuss this with the family and the family finder need take no further action;
7. If it is considered that the link should be pursued, the adoptive family's link worker and the family finder should agree to exchange the Prospective Adopter's Report and the Child's Permanence Report, with a follow up discussion after they have been read.
   
   The family finder should also forward to the adoptive family's link worker information about the agency's adoption support;
8. The adoptive family's link worker may wish to visit the family to go through the Child's Permanence Report, and should be asked to indicate as soon as possible whether or not the family wish to proceed.

The procedure outlined in paragraphs 7.4 to 7.8 above will then be followed and the child's social worker and family finder will visit potential families prior to a Matching Meeting being held.

Once a suitable match has been identified, (whether with in-house approved adopters, inter agency or a foster carer approved as an adopter), the child's social worker, prospective adopters' link worker and the family finder should prepare an Adoption Placement Report and a proposed Adoption Support Plan giving details of the family recommended, evaluating how this family may meet the child's needs and setting out the proposed adoption support services to be offered to the child, adoptive family and birth family - see Adoption Support Services.

The Adoption Placement Report must be written by a qualified social worker with suitable experience (see Adoption Panel Procedure) and must include the prospective adopter's views on the proposed placement, contact arrangements (including meeting with the birth parents), adoption support and any proposed restrictions on their exercise of Parental Responsibility after the placement.

This will include including the support to be provided to the prospective adopters to promote the child's educational achievements and participation in leisure activities; to help the child develop positive relationships; and to manage any challenging behaviour which the child may display, The support plan will also include arrangements for contact including how to deal with unauthorised or unmediated contact through online social networking sites.

8.1

Presentation to the Adoption Panel

The family finder must present the following reports to the Adoption Panel:

1. A front sheet stating what is being reported, the reports included;
2. Permanence Report (with an update medical report no more than 6 months old);
3. The Prospective Adopter's Report, updated as necessary, on the identified prospective adopters and a recent medical (in the last 2 years);
4. The Adoption Placement Report;
5. The proposed Adoption Support Plan;
6. The proposals regarding post-placement and post-adoption contact;
7. The views of the prospective adopters on the Prospective Adopter's Report and the proposed contact arrangements.

After the Panel has considered the reports and made a written recommendation, the minute and reports considered by the Panel will be sent to the Agency Decision Maker who will make a decision based on this information within 7 working days of the Panel meeting. In urgent cases, for example where the Court timetable requires it, this timescale should be reduced to 5 working days. The decision will be recorded in writing.

If the Panel has given advice in relation to adoption support, proposed contact and/or the exercise of Parental Responsibility by the prospective adopters and/or the birth parents, the Agency Decision Maker may express a view on such advice.

Where the Agency Decision Maker is minded to disagree with the Panel recommendation, they must first discuss the case with another senior officer with relevant experience, who must not be a Panel member. This discussion must be recorded and placed on the child's and the prospective adopter's Adoption Case Record.

The purpose of the first Placement Planning Meeting is to draw up a proposed Adoption Placement Plan. The purpose of the first Placement Planning Meeting is to draw up a proposed Adoption Placement Plan. The Adoption Placement Plan should include:

• Whether the placement is to be made under a Placement Order or with parental consent;
• The arrangements for preparing the child and the prospective adopter for the placement (see below);
• The proposed date of the placement, who will be present when the placement takes place;
• The Adoption Support Plan including the support to be provided to the prospective adopters to promote the child's educational achievements and participation in leisure activities; to help the child develop positive relationships; and to manage any challenging behaviour which the child may display;
• Whether and to what extent, the exercise of Parental Responsibility by the prospective adopters and/or the birth parents is to be restricted, including the delegation of decision making to the prospective adopters about the child's health needs and under what circumstances consent to medical treatment needs to be obtained;
• The arrangements for the monitoring and supervision of the placement (including contact details of key support staff during office hours and out of hours);
• The dates on which the life story book and any Later Life letters will be passed to the prospective adopters (usually within 10 working days of the adoption ceremony, i.e. the ceremony to celebrate the making of the adoption order);
• The date and arrangements for the first Adoption Review;
• Any post-placement contact between the child and members of their birth family and/or the child and the foster carers, and;
• Clarification of who will make the necessary notifications of the placement (see Section 10, The Placement).

It will also set out the steps required leading up to the child's placement with the prospective adopters, including the first meeting between the child and the prospective adoptive family, the programme of and detailed arrangements for their introductions (dates, times, venues, transport and accommodation), the reimbursement of any expenses of the introductions, any other financial assistance to enable the placement to occur and, where appropriate, a meeting between the parents and the prospective adopters.

As part of the preparation of the child for the adoptive placement, information will be provided to ensure that they have a proper understanding about the accommodation and others living at the prospective adoptive home, the contact arrangements with the birth family and how to contact their social worker.

The family finder will be responsible for coordinating Placement Planning Meetings. However, all workers involved must be clear about their respective roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the plan, and what should happen in the event of difficulties. Changes to the Adoption Placement Plan can only be made with the agreement of the family finder or the Chair of the meeting and must be notified to the prospective adopters in writing.

At the mid-point of the introductions, a second Placement Planning Meeting will be held, at which the following areas will be addressed:

1. The progress of the introductions - has the necessary action identified at the previous meeting been taken, and the plan been followed? - If not, why not?
2. The views of each participant as to the above;
3. The identification of the positives;
4. The identification of any difficulties;
5. The development of the next stage of the plan;
6. The finalisation of the arrangements for the placement.

Where contact is part of the adoption plan, the proposals must be drawn up in written agreements to be signed by the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents. The agreements must specify the form and timing of the contact and the arrangements for putting the contact in place. The agreements must also specify that the arrangements may change dependent upon the wishes of the child.

The agreement should also include how the prospective adopters should deal with unauthorised or unmediated contact through online social networking sites. All parties must sign and retain copies of the agreement. The parent's copy should not reveal any identifying information about the placement.

Once the matching of the child has been approved, the adoption agency has authority to place the child (either through a Placement Order or Parental Consent), the plan of introductions has been successfully completed and the Adoption Placement Plan has been completed and signed by all parties, the placement can go ahead. A social worker must be present when the placement takes place.

Note that the Court of Appeal in W & Ors (Implementation of Adoption Plan Pending Appeal) [2024] EWCA Civ 837 made clear that local authorities must not proceed with the implementation of the Placement Order until it is clear that no appeal is being made against the Order. See Section 4.2, Procedural Fairness for further information.

Prior to the placement, the child's social worker must ensure that all the following information / items have been provided to the prospective adopters:

1. Authority to consent to medical and dental treatment;
2. The parent-held Child Health Record;
3. Any letters, photographs or mementos from the birth family, including a 'Later in Life' letter from the birth parent if possible, and the Life Story Book;
4. The child's birth certificate;
5. The child's passport (if applicable);
6. A copy of the Care Order (if applicable), Placement Order (if applicable) and any other Court Orders that exist;
7. A copy of the Parental Consent to the Placement and Advance Consent to Adoption (if applicable);
8. A written plan of the contact arrangements pre and post adoption with the birth parents and any previous carers;
9. The Adoption Support Plan, including a named post-adoption social worker;
10. The Adoption Placement Plan including arrangements for support and visits by the child's social worker and their own social worker;
11. Any other relevant information, including specialist reports (subject to the author's consent).

The prospective adopters should be asked to sign confirmation of receipt. Where the information / items are provided at different times, the prospective adopters must sign and date confirmation of receipt on each occasion.