3.8.3 Assessment and Approval of Adopters

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was significantly updated in June 2011 and January 2012 to take account of the changes made in the Adoption National Minimum Standards 2011 and Adoption Guidance 2011. This chapter should be re read.

Recruitment and Responding to Initial Enquiries
Initial Interview/Information Meeting
Checks and References
Preparation Groups
Home Study/Assessment
Prospective Adopters Report
The Panel Recommendation
After the Panel Recommendation
Representations/Independent Review Procedure
Review of Prospective Adopters' Approval
Criteria for Prospective Adopters

1. Recruitment and Responding to Initial Enquiries

The adoption agency aims to recruit and assess prospective adopters who can meet most of the needs of children for whom adoption is the plan.

It is not part of the recruitment strategy of the adoption agency to turn away couples or single people because of their status, age or because they and the child do not share the same racial or cultural background as the children requiring adoptive placements.

All members of the public who make an initial enquiry by telephone should be sent an information pack in relation to the adoption process, which contains a variety of information relevant to the enquiry, including the complaints procedure. The information pack must be sent within 5 working days of the initial enquiry. The pack should include information about how to progress the enquiry.

A new enquiry should be inputted on ICS carers module.

If the enquirer is responding to publicity for a specific child, the person taking the enquiry should ensure that the information is forwarded to the family finding social worker for the child concerned. See Placement for Adoption Procedure. ICS will be updated as required.

Enquirers should not be turned away on the basis that their ethnicity and culture is not shared with those children waiting to be placed with adoptive parents or because of their age - there is no upper age restriction on applying to be adoptive parents.

Where foster carers, who are requesting to adopt a child they are currently looking after, see Foster Carers who wish to Adopt Procedure.

The procedure for any enquirer requesting a second placement will be the same as for new applicants.

The Practice Supervisor will allocate the case to a social worker to carry out an Initial Interview or the enquirer will be invited to an Information Evening (see Section 2, Initial Interview/Information Meeting).

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

All Contacts will be recorded on ICS.

Where there is no response from the enquirer within 6 weeks, the Practice Supervisor will close the case and complete an ICS outcome "No Further Action".

2. Initial Interview/Information Meeting

If an initial interview is to be undertaken, an appointment must be sent within 2 months of the initial enquiry being received.

If it is proposed to hold an Information Meeting, written invitations must be sent within 2 months of the initial enquiry being received. Prior to conducting the initial interview, a letter of confirmation of the appointment will be sent to the prospective applicants.

The purpose of the interview /information meeting is to discuss the criteria for prospective adopters (see Section 11, Criteria for Prospective Adopters); to explain further the procedures (including the need to complete a course of Preparation Groups). The needs of the children currently waiting for adoptive families will be outlined.

At the initial interview, the social worker should also check that the accommodation is acceptable and discuss with the prospective applicants why they wish to adopt and the type of child they would wish to consider.

The interview should provide enough information to help enquirers to decide if they wish to proceed and for the social worker to assess the appropriateness of commencing the approval process.

If any factors emerge which may have an adverse effect on an application, appropriate advice will be given. Prospective applicants should be specifically asked to identify anything that they know may preclude them from adopting.

The decision will be based on the information obtained so far in relation to the prospective applicants and the needs of the children waiting for adopters, taking into account the resources currently available within the existing pool of approved adopters.

An Adoption Case Record for prospective adopters should be set up as soon as a formal application has been received (including where it is a second or foster carer application, in which case copies of relevant information from other files should be placed on the new Adoption Case Record.)

Where a decision is made to proceed, all necessary checks will be initiated (including the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for all household members aged 16 and over and a full medical examination of each enquirer) and the enquirer will be invited to attend Preparation Groups. If the invitation to attend Preparation Groups is accepted, before all necessary checks have been completed, the enquirer will be advised that the agency reserves the right to discontinue their enquiry if information is received which causes concern and would prejudice the safe care of children (see Section 3, Checks and References).

If there are reasons for not continuing with the application, the Practice Supervisor will write to the enquirers setting out the decision not to proceed and the reasons. Advice should be given of any steps they may take in order to meet the criteria or of how they might pursue their interest elsewhere, if appropriate, or of steps they may take if they disagree with the decision.

If there appear to be issues of concern in relation to the enquirers' health, the Medical Adviser should be consulted for advice before a decision is made. Where advised by the Medical Adviser, the prospective applicants should be requested at this stage to obtain a medical report from their GP.

Dependent on the outcome of the health information received and the medical advice from the Medical Adviser, the Practice Supervisor in consultation with the Team Manager will decide whether to proceed with the application and the decision will be communicated to the enquirer in writing with reasons unless there are matters of confidentiality/safety.

3. Checks and References

3.1 Checks

On receipt of the completed forms, the following checks will be taken up on all adult members of the household aged 16 and over:

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) (enhanced criminal record certificates will be sought
The following checks will be taken up in respect of the adoption applicants:
- Probation;
- NSPCC;
- Health Trust;
- The Directorate for Children and Young People (including a separate check on the Education Service); and
- The Directorate for Adult and Community Services;
- Where the applicants live outside the county, the checks must be made of the local authority where the applicants live;
- SSAFA as appropriate.

Where enquirers have lived abroad as an adult, checks will also be made as advised for specific countries by the CRB, or the relevant consulate or embassy, on all members of the household aged 16 and over who have lived abroad.

Where there are concerns about an applicant's circumstances as a result of the information obtained from the above checks, the applicant may be advised not to proceed with the application. Where necessary, the Team Manager will determine whether the Adoption Panel's "early consideration" will be sought.

Where the CRB check reveals any convictions, this information will be forwarded to the nominated Counter Signatory who will in discussion with the Team Manager decide whether the application should proceed.

The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 stipulates that an agency may not consider a person suitable to adopt if he or any adult member of the household has been convicted of a specified offence at the age of 18 and over or has been cautioned in respect of a specified offence. A "specified offence" means:

An offence against a child;
An offence specified in Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005, Part 1 schedule 3;
An offence where prohibited goods have been imported and the prohibited goods included indecent photographs of children;
Any other offence involving bodily injury to a child, other than an offence of common assault or battery.

Further guidance on offences revealed on CRB checks should be sought from Adoption and Children Act 2002 Guidance.

If appropriate, the Practice Supervisor will interview the person concerned and may also consult the Panel Adviser and/or the Head of Service. The applicants must always be notified in writing of the decision, with reasons.

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

Where the applicants are not willing to withdraw, a brief report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopters (see Section 7, The Panel Recommendation to Section 9, Representations/Independent Review Procedure).

Information relevant to the prospective adopter's application which the agency has obtained from the CRB, may only be retained on the prospective adopter's case record for a limited time only. This information should be destroyed when the agency decides whether the prospective adopter is suitable to adopt a child. A note should be made on the carer's record that it has destroyed the CRB information. The record should state that the information has led the agency to form a particular view but the information from the CRB should not be cited.

3.2 References

Personal References

Where an application is accepted, applicants will be asked to provide the names of a minimum of two personal referees, who are adults, have known the applicant for a significant period of time and are not related to the applicant. Referees should be people who know the applicants well in a personal capacity, and it is desirable that the referees have direct experience of caring for children, either in a personal or professional capacity. Referees who are a couple should be seen together and will only count as one referee.

Where there is a joint application, referees should know both applicants, or additional referees will be required.

A third reference from a member of the prospective applicants wider family should also be taken up.

Referees will be seen as part of the assessment process.

Employers' and Other References

A written reference must also be obtained in relation to each applicant from their current employers.

If the prospective adopter is or has been employed in a child care capacity, the agency should obtain an employer's reference and seek information about their care of children.

These references will be taken up during the assessment process.

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

Obtaining Written References

The allocated adoption social worker will send requests for written references. A standard reference letter/form is available for this purpose.

The referees should be asked to comment on the following:

The length of time the referee has known the applicant, in what circumstances, how they met and how regularly they are in contact;
Where there is a joint application, the couple's relationship including its stability and quality, the couples strengths and ways of coping with stress and how mutually supportive the couple is;
The applicants' general physical and emotional well being;
How the applicants relate to children, with examples, and what experience the applicants have of caring for children, and any related strengths or weaknesses;
How the prospective adopter might cope with caring for and parenting a child;
Any concerns about the safety of a child placed in the prospective adopters home;
How the applicants have adjusted to childlessness if this is the case, how they have prepared to become adoptive parents, how much they have shared with the referees and how open they are in talking about the issues surrounding adoption;
Any reservations the referee has and whether the referee wholeheartedly supports the application;
Any other information that the referee thinks may be helpful to the assessment.

Interviewing Referees

As well as providing a written reference, referees will also be interviewed during the home study part of the assessment process.

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

Issues for discussion include the following:

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

Interview of previous partners

The assessing social worker will also contact the previous partners of the applicants, where the relationship was significant particularly where there were any children of the relationship, unless there are exceptional reasons for not doing so. If appropriate, the social worker will arrange to interview them face-to-face wherever practicable. If a decision is made not to interview a former partner, the decision and reasons for this should be recorded on the form F and ICS, including the evidence which the applicant has provided as an essential element of this decision. Information on former partners can be obtained from referees particularly if there is a conflict of information provided from the applicant and the former partner.

A record of an interview with a former partner should be made, carefully analysing the information and presented to the adoption panel.

All children of the applicant(s) living away from home will also be contacted and interviewed or asked for a written reference.

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

3.3 Health

Once an application has been accepted or earlier if appropriate, the applicants will also be asked to arrange for an adoption medical examination and report from their GP on Form AAH.

Form AAH will then be sent to the Medical Adviser by the GP.

The GP's report must have been written within the 2 years prior to the Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting considering the application.

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

Where there are concerns about an applicants circumstances, for example where there are concerns about their health or about the information obtained from referees, the Team Manager may determine that the matter be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel for its "early consideration".

In some cases, the concerns may be such that the applicant is advised not to proceed with the application. Any such advice must be confirmed to them in writing and the reasons explained.

Where the applicant disagrees with the decision that the application should not proceed and/or is not willing to withdraw, a brief report on the application should be presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the Prospective Adopter (see Section 7, The Panel Recommendation to Section 9, Representations/Independent Review Procedure).

4. Preparation Groups

All prospective adopters will be required to complete a course of Preparation Groups before their application proceeds to a full assessment.

The Groups are an integral part of the application process, and applicants must attend all sessions.

The objectives of the Groups are:

To raise awareness and understanding of the key issues which need to be addressed by all prospective adopters, including information to enable them to understand the purpose and importance for the child of maintaining contact with the birth family;
To provide information specific to the needs of adopted children including the implications of early years trauma, neglect and loss;
To assist applicants to consider more thoroughly the implications of adoption and to decide whether or not adoption is right for them;
To assist applicants to determine the type of resource they can offer to the children needing adoptive placements;
To contribute to the assessment of applicants.

At the end of the Preparation Course, unless issues have emerged as a result of which the Practice Supervisor in consultation with the Team Manager decides that it is not appropriate to proceed with the application, the prospective applicants will be asked to complete a formal application form to be considered as adopters for Lincolnshire.

Regulation 12.9 of the Adoption Regulations and Guidance (England 2011) requires the Child's Social Worker to ensure that the prospective adopters (whether agency or Intercountry) understands the importance that the child's birth family are informed if the child should unfortunately die during childhood. Prospective adopters must agree that the named manager who is the Head of Regulated Services is informed.

Where issues emerge during the Preparation Groups as a result of which the Team Manager/Practice Supervisor decides that it is not appropriate to proceed with the application, the applicants should be visited by a member of the Adoption Service and notified in writing of the decision, with reasons. Advice should be given of any steps they may take in order to meet the criteria or of how they might pursue their interest elsewhere, if appropriate.

Where they disagree with the decision and/or are not willing to withdraw, the Team Manager will determine whether a brief report should be presented to the Adoption Panel for the Panel's "early consideration" and advice on how to proceed.

Often the issues are straightforward and Panel have not traditionally wished to consider what a senior manager should determine on the evidence provided. A report may be presented to the Adoption Panel.

5. Home Study/Assessment

The assessment must be carried out by a qualified social worker with suitable experience (see Section 5, Adoption Panel Minutes of Adoption Panel Procedure).

It is essential that the assessing social worker has read the DFES Practice Guidance-preparing and Assessing Prospective Adopters (2006) prior to commencing the assessment.

It is recommended that the assessing social worker refers to Making Good Assessments: A Practical Resource Guide (BAAF, 1999) and the following publications in relevant cases:

Recruiting Black and Minority Ethnic Adopters and Foster Carers, Gwen Rule, BAAF;
Recruiting, Assessing and Supporting Lesbian and Gay Carers and Adopters, by Gerald P Mallon and Bridget Betts;
A Marginalised Resource? Recruiting, Assessing and Supporting Single Carers, by Bridget Betts.

The assessment will comprise a series of interviews, which will take place in the applicants' home. Applicants should be interviewed at least once individually and several times with their partner, and all other members of the household will also be interviewed, including the children. The full family group must be observed as part of the assessment.

Checks should be made that any information obtained from an individual can be shared with the partner.

The areas covered in interviews will follow the subject areas:

Individual profiles of all members of the household, including racial origin and religious persuasion;
Information about the home, the local community and the neighbourhood;
Details of education and employment - past and present;
Income and expenditure;
Details of past and present relationships;
Motivation to adopt/childlessness;
Parenting capacity, experience of being parented and experience with children;
Support network, including wider family network;
Expectations of the placement, including understanding of issues from the preparation course;
Attitudes to birth families and approach to openness in adoption.

As part of the assessment:

A family tree and chronology of key events in the applicant's life must be compiled, showing his or her educational, employment, marital and/or relationship history and all previous addresses; any gaps and/or unusual patterns should be explored;
All information provided by the applicant must be independently verified where possible;
Where an applicant has been divorced or separated, factors contributing to the breakdown of the relationship must be verified. This applies equally to significant relationships between couples who are not married;
A Health and Safety Assessment 'Safety Plan' for prospective adopters should be completed and can be found on 'George' under Core Forms. This must include an assessment of the safety of the adopter's home;
If the prospective adopters own a dog or other pets a dog/pet assessment should be completed and the information incorporated within the assessment report. See Section 11, Criteria for Prospective Adopters.

The health and safety assessment should be completed and included with the papers for adoption panel. The health and safety assessment should include information on the vehicle the prospective adopter drives to ensure that it is road worthy. The assessment should provide information for the Prospective adopter regarding the safe transportation of children in their car.

All drivers must hold a valid and appropriate driving licence;
The prospective adoptee must inform their supervising social worker of existing impending disqualification or convictions;
Drivers should have at least 1 year's previous driving experience;
Drivers should be in good health and physically capable of driving safely. If necessary, medical advice should be obtained;
Children should never be left in the vehicle unattended;
The driver and staff are responsible for ensuring all passengers are wearing suitable restraints. (information regarding this is available through the supervising social worker);
The vehicle must be in a roadworthy and serviceable condition, including up to date road tax and MOT this information to be made available to the social worker to present to panel;
All vehicles are correctly insured for the purpose this information to be made available to the social worker to present to panel.

The time taken to complete the assessment after a formal application has been received will be no more than eight months unless the need for additional work with the prospective adopters is identified or recommended by the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

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

Where the prospective adopters live outside the county, the social worker should ascertain the extent of any support services identified as necessary by contacting the Adoption Support Services Adviser in their local area.

The assessment will also cover the applicants' willingness to notify the adoption agency if the adopted child dies during childhood or soon afterwards, their views on post-adoption contact and their willingness to pass on information to birth parents about the progress of the adopted child. These issues should be specifically reported on to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

If, during the course of the assessment, any issues emerge which cast doubt upon the likelihood of the applicants being approved, such issues should be discussed openly with the applicant at the time, and "early consideration" by the Adoption and Permanence Panel may be sought at any stage.

6. Prospective Adopters Report

The information gathered during the assessment, the Preparation Groups and the checks and personal references, and a comprehensive analysis of the information received must form the basis of the Prospective Adopters Report (on BAAF Forms F1 or F2). The report will also include a summary by the Medical Adviser of the health report obtained on the applicant/s.

Guidance for completing BAAF Forms F1 and F2 must be followed, which include the need to address anti-discriminatory practice issues. It should contain analysis and a summary of the assessed strengths and weaknesses of the applicants, together with an opinion of the type of placement likely to be provided successfully. Potential risk factors should be highlighted.

Once the assessing social worker has completed the report, it should be submitted to the Practice Supervisor for approval. The manager will check that the report is accurate, up to date and contains evidence based information before it is presented to the Adoption Panel.

The final Report will be sent to the applicants, with a form for their comments. The applicants should be asked to send their written comments to the Panel administration. It should be explained to them that they have 10 working days to do this, and that their written comments will be circulated to Panel members, with the report. They can also agree to waive the 10 day period.

The applicants should also be advised of their right to attend the meeting of the Adoption and Permanence Panel, which considers their application, and they are supported in doing so.

They should be provided with written information about the Panel process, its membership, who will attend and their respective roles. If the applicants know a particular Panel member, the applicants may request that the Panel member stand down. (Panel members are in any event expected to declare an interest in these circumstances - see Adoption Panel Procedure).

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

The social worker will then send the Prospective Adopter's Report, the applicants' written comments (if any) and the Panel Submission Form Front Sheet and a Quality Assurance Form, to the Panel Administrator at least 15 working days before the relevant Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting.

The date of the Panel meeting will be communicated to the applicants as soon as possible, together with an invitation to attend the Panel during consideration of the report.

7. The Panel Recommendation

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

The assessing social worker will attend the Panel meeting (and the Practice Supervisor where appropriate), together with the applicants if they so wish. The decision to attend rests with the applicants and a wish not to attend will not prejudice consideration of their application.

Applicants who decide they wish to attend should be fully prepared as to the procedure prior to their attendance (see Section 6, Prospective Adopters Report).

The Panel will consider the Prospective Adopter's Report together with all the supporting documentation (see Section 6, Prospective Adopters Report) and any additional information presented verbally, and make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker regarding the suitability of the applicant to adopt a child.

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

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

The adoption worker undertaking the assessment will advise the applicant of the Panel recommendation within 24 hours of the Panel meeting if the applicants were not at the meeting. This will be verbally, by telephone or, where appropriate, a home visit. The social worker will emphasise to the applicant that the Panel recommendation has to be ratified by the Agency Decision Maker.

8. After the Panel Recommendation

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

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

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

The Panel Administration Team will arrange for the applicants to be sent oral notification of the decision within 2 working days and written notice of the decision, signed by the Agency Decision Maker, within 5 working days of the decision.

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

9. Representations/Independent Review Procedure

If a decision is made to refuse an application for approval, the applicant will be advised that if he or she wishes to challenge the decision, representations should be submitted within 40 working days either directly to the agency or they may request a referral to the Independent Review Mechanism (run by BAAF). N.B Applicants can decide which representation procedure to choose - they cannot choose both.

The Panel Advisor must receive notification of the wish to attend or make written representations to the Adoption and Permanence Panel within 40 working days of the date of the written notice of the decision.

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

If a request to attend or make written representations to the Adoption and Permanence Panel is made within the period, the matter must be referred to the Panel for further consideration.

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

In these circumstances, applicants who wish to attend the meeting of the Adoption and Permanence Panel can arrange for a friend or supporter to accompany them.

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

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the Panel meeting.

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

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

The procedure for the Independent Review is carried out by BAAF; the applicant and a representative of the adoption agency will be invited to attend the Independent Review.

After considering the representations, the Independent Review may make a recommendation, which the Agency Decision Maker will consider before a final decision is made.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the receipt of the Independent Review recommendation.

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

10. Review of Prospective Adopters' Approval

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

Prospective adopters' details may be passed to the Adoption Register immediately after their approval (if they consent) if it appears unlikely that there will be a placement with a child in their area or if no locally identified match is being actively pursued at the latest by 3 months.

They will be informed of local support groups and be advised of their responsibility to maintain links with the adoption link worker and keep him or her informed of any significant changes in their situation.

All approved adopters will be subject to Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks every 2 years and required to provide an updated medical report every 2 years.

The Practice Supervisor will review the adopters' approval every 12 months or sooner if there had been a significant change, for example a new member of the household. The review would be undertaken by means of a Review Report prepared by the Practice Supervisor, together with any comments on the report from the prospective adopters, including any necessary statutory checks on new members of the household. The Team Manager or the Social Worker who prepared the assessment may not conduct the review.

The procedure set out in Section 7, The Panel Recommendation and Section 8, After the Panel Recommendation should then be followed.

If the approval is still considered suitable, the prospective adopters should be notified of the outcome in writing and a copy of the report signed by themselves will be placed on their Adoption Case Record.

If the prospective adopters are considered no longer suitable, the same procedure should be followed as set out in Section 9, Representations/Independent Review Procedure.

11. Criteria for Prospective Adopters

11.1 Individual and Joint

Applications will be considered from married couples, unmarried couples or single people. In the case of married and unmarried couples, there is no minimum requirement on the length of the marriage/relationship, but the Panel will need to be satisfied about the stability of the relationship.

11.2 Religion

Applications will be considered from people of any or no religious persuasion.

11.3 Ethnicity

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

11.4 Age

The minimum age for adopters is 21 years. There is no specific upper age limit.

11.5 Gender

Applications will be considered from people of either sex.

11.6 Sexual Orientation

Applications will be considered from people of any sexual orientation.

11.7 Income

Applicants may be in work or not. Whatever the applicants' income, they will need to consider the financial implications of increasing their family.

11.8 Health

Applicants are accepted from those with a disability.

Applicants will be required to have a full medical and undergo any further tests/checks that may be required by the Adoption and Permanence Panels Medical Adviser. The Medical Adviser will advise on the applicants' ability, from a health point of view, to meet the needs of a child throughout his or her childhood.

11.9 Criminal Convictions

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

Other convictions will not necessarily preclude an application, but this will depend on the seriousness of the offence and how long ago it was committed. In cases of doubt or dispute, the matter will be referred to the Team Manager who may also consult the Panel Adviser and/or the Head of Service.

11.10 Accommodation

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

They will need accommodation appropriate to the number and ages of the children they are seeking to adopt. A Health and Safety form will be completed by the adoption supervising social worker.

11.11 Fertility Tests/Treatment

Childless couples wishing to adopt a baby or a young child will usually be required to have completed any fertility tests and treatment, and to have had a period of time, probably about 6 months, since completing the tests before an application can be accepted. This is because it is important for couples to have accepted their infertility and grieved before moving on to start the adoption process.

11.12 Applicants who have a Child or Children

Applications will be accepted from people who already have a child, in which case any children should usually be at least two years older or younger than the age of the child an applicant is seeking to adopt. If the intention is to adopt a child in the middle of the family, there should preferably be a three year age gap between the siblings but each child's individual placement needs must be considered.

11.13 Domicile/Habitual Residence in the British Isles

Applicants do not have to have British Citizenship, but should be domiciled in the British Isles or have been habitually resident in the British Isles for at least one year Where there is a joint application, only one of the applicants need to be domiciled in the British Isles or both should be habitually resident here for at least one year. Advice on domicile and habitual residence in set out in Annex A of The Adoption Guidance.

In all these cases it is essential to see all relevant documents in order to fully establish nationality and immigration status.

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

11.14 Location

Applications are welcome from those who reside within the County or elsewhere in cases where applicants have responded to a specific advertisement for a child or where there is a shortage of applications for a particular age range, for sibling groups, children with disabilities or children exhibiting challenging behaviour.

Applicants must be prepared to travel for group meetings; introductions etc. and be available for assessment and home visits.

11.15 Child Care Experience

It is important that the applicant who is going to be the main carer has some experience of children of the age group in which the applicants are interested. However, this requirement should not preclude the assessment of childless applicants who may demonstrate the qualities important in adoptive parents, but who have not had specific child care experience.

11.16 Support Network

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

11.17 Post Placement/Post Adoption Contact

Prospective adopters will be expected to comply with arrangements for post placement/post adoption contact with the child's birth family, where the agency considers it is in the child's best interests for such contact to take place and as recorded in the Schedule 5/Annex A report to the adoption court and in the Letterbox agreement.

11.18 Significant Change or Bereavement

Applicants will be advised to defer pursuing an interest in adoption if they have recently experienced any significant change in the family or bereavement.

11.19 Dangerous Dogs

All applicants should complete a Dog Questionnaire for each dog in the household and an assessment undertaken as part of the assessment, regarding dogs and any other pets within the household. Expert advice from a veterinarian may be required in unusual cases.

End