Recruitment and Assessment of Adopters Stage 2 Procedure

Prospective adopters are not able to commence Stage Two of the process until they have successfully completed Stage One or they fulfil the criteria for Fast Track Assessment.

Stage Two should generally be completed by the same agency as Stage One.

Stage Two starts when the agency receives notification from the prospective adopters that they wish to proceed with the assessment process (within 6 months of the agency inviting them to commence Stage Two). Stage Two should take 4 months (6 months if there are exceptional circumstances). Reasons for any extensions should be recorded on the prospective adopter's case file and in the Prospective Adopter's Report.

Agencies must prepare with the prospective adopter a Stage Two Prospective Adopter Agreement detailing the assessment process, dates for meetings/visits, agreed training and any further information that may be required and agreeing a Panel date. Agencies should provide any necessary intensive training and in parallel, carry out an assessment of the prospective adopter's suitability to adopt and produce a report of that assessment (Prospective Adopter's Report).

This stage should begin with a meeting between the prospective adopter and the allocated social worker. The social worker should explain how Stage Two will operate and what will be required of the prospective adopter. The social worker should explain the decision-making process and the role of the Adoption Panel and the Independent Review Mechanism.

Stage Two will end with the Agency Decision Maker's decision about the suitability of the prospective adopter to adopt a child.

Applicants should be given up to 5 working days to comment on their assessment report before it goes to panel if they wish.

In conducting the assessment, the social worker should consider and analyse the information they ascertain from and about the prospective adopter, including any issues identified during the adoption preparation. The approach should be objective and inquiring, with information evaluated and its accuracy and consistency checked. The assessment must be carried out by a qualified social worker with suitable experience (see Adoption Panel Procedure).

The assessment will comprise a series of interviews, the majority of which will take place in the applicants' home, either in person or via video call (applicants should be seen in person at least twice prior to the assessment being completed). Applicants should be interviewed both individually and with their partner, and all other members of the household will also be interviewed, including the children.

The areas covered in interviews will follow the subject areas:

• Individual profiles of all members of the household, including a photograph and physical description, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background, religious persuasion, personality and interests, relationship (if any) to the child;
• Information about the home, the local community and the neighbourhood;
• Financial circumstances including, debts, savings, 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;
• Details of education and employment - past and present;
• Views about the importance and value of education;
• Views and feelings about adoption and its significance, attitudes to birth families and approach to openness in adoption and contact;
• Views about parental responsibility and what it means;
• Views about a suitable home environment for the child;
• Views and feelings about the importance of a child's religious and cultural upbringing;
• Any other information which indicates how the prospective adopter and anybody else living in the household is likely to relate to a child placed for adoption;
• Any other relevant information which might assist the adoption panel or the adoption agency.

As part of the assessment:

• A family tree and Chronology of key events in the applicant's life from birth must be compiled, showing their educational, employment, marital and/or relationship history and addresses for the previous 10 years. Any gaps and/or unusual patterns should be explored and analysed within the Prospective Adopters Report;
• An Adult Attachment Style Interview may be carried out with first time prospective adopters;
• All information provided by the applicant must be independently verified where possible, by checking it against other sources such as referees;
• Where an applicant has been divorced or separated, factors contributing to the breakdown of the relationship should be verified. This applies equally to significant relationships between couples who are not married;
• The adequacy and safety of the prospective adoptive home and transport will be assessed;
• Where the applicants have pets, a risk assessment should be conducted, and any associated risks should be taken into account both in relation to the pet itself and where the pet is kept. Where applicants have dogs, or any other pet where it is felt necessary, a risk assessment will be carried out during Stage One of the assessment process, and this should be addressed and analysed within the Prospective Adopters Report.

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

Where the prospective adopters live in another local authority area, the social worker should ascertain the extent of any support services identified as necessary in their local area.

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

Further interviews with referees may be required at this stage to discuss information obtained during the assessment interviews.

Further checks will be undertaken in stage two as detailed below:

• School References – where prospective adopters have children who attend nursery or school provision, the assessing social worker should gain the details from the applicant/s and a request for a reference will be sent. This should be done at the earliest opportunity within Stage Two to avoid delay later;
• Employer Checks - the assessing social worker should gain the details from the applicant/s and a request for a reference will be sent. This should be done at the earliest opportunity to avoid delay later. Where the applicant is self-employed, an accountant or customer reference may be considered. We will seek references where an applicant has worked with children or other vulnerable groups throughout their career;
• Ex-Partner Checks. - Where these were not carried out in Stage One, Ex-Partner checks should be triggered by the social worker making contact;
• Adult child/ren Checks – these should be triggered by the social worker making contact;
• Volunteering – Gaining childcare experience through volunteering is a valuable exercise as part of preparing for adoptive parenting. The assessing social worker will request Business Support send out a reference request;
• Health and Safety – A health and safety check will be carried out by the assessing social worker in Stage One and advice given. This will be followed up at the end of stage one and during the stage two assessment to ensure all remedial actions have been addressed;
• If required, a pet questionnaire and a dog questionnaire will be carried out in Stage Two.

Training within stage two will include 3 days preparation training and a selection of other training and workshops to meet specific needs.

Discussion should take place with the prospective adopter about whether they may be interested in fostering a child for whom adoption is thought to be a likely Permanence Plan. This can be where, although the child's plan is likely to become adoption, other options are still being explored. There is no need for the agency to assess and approve the prospective adopter as a foster carer at the same time as they are carrying out the adopter approval process although they can do so if they and the prospective adopter wish to do so. The child's local authority can arrange for the foster care assessment and approval of an approved adopter.

The agency should indicate on the Prospective Adopter's Report if the prospective adopter is interested in Fostering for Adoption. This will allow prospective adopters to be matched with a child requiring an early permanence placement.

It is expected that foster carer adoption and experienced adoption assessments will be completed in 4 months total where possible. Previous adopters and approved foster carers may be able to proceed straight to Stage Two and receive a tailored assessment to take account of such factors as their previous experience of adopting or fostering and the needs of the child they have previously adopted/fostered.

There is no requirement to provide counselling, information and preparation for adoption.

The preliminary Pre-Assessment Decision stage is not necessary, and the assessment process progresses straight to preparation of the Prospective Adopter's Report.

Any necessary additional training should be provided.

The information gathered during Stage One (the pre-assessment stage), the Stage Two (the assessment stage), including the checks and personal references, will form the basis of the Prospective Adopter's Report, together with any other relevant information. The report will also include a summary by the Medical Advisor of the health report(s) obtained on the applicant/s.

The social worker who assesses the prospective adopter should draft the Prospective Adopter's Report highlighting any issues of concern and submit it to their team manager. Where there are any issues of significant concern or where clarification is needed, the manager may arrange for a second person to visit the prospective adopter to discuss these but must remain mindful of the timeframe for Stage Two. The second person could be a team manager or another adoption social worker. A visit by another person provides a second opinion where necessary before the report to the panel is finalised in cases where clarification is needed but should not be routinely carried out. The author of the report and the countersigning officer should both sign and date the report, state their qualifications and experience, and confirm that they are suitably qualified to prepare the report.

Where information received during the assessment leads the agency to consider that the prospective adopter is unlikely to be considered suitable to adopt a child, a 'brief Prospective Adopter's Report' may be prepared regardless of whether or not all the required assessment information has been obtained. A decision not to complete the full assessment is a serious step to take and advice should first be sought from the adoption Team Manager and Service Manager. Depending on the nature of the information, advice may also need to be sought from the agency's Medical Advisor or legal adviser, or both. The concerns should be explained to the prospective adopter and they should be offered counselling, involving other professionals as appropriate. As a result of the counselling and advice, the prospective adopter may decide to withdraw their application. If they decide not to withdraw their application, the brief Prospective Adopter's Report should be prepared.

The Report will include the agency's assessment of the prospective adopter's suitability to adopt.

Reports should address anti-discriminatory and valuing diversity issues. It should contain a summary of the assessed strengths and vulnerabilities of the applicants, together with an opinion of the type of placement likely to be provided successfully. Potential risk factors should be highlighted.

When the Prospective Adopter's Report is finalised, a copy of relevant sections should be sent to the applicants, and they must be notified that the application is to be referred to the Adoption Panel. The applicants should be invited to send any observations in writing within 5 working days, beginning with the date on which the notification was sent (this timescale may be extended in exceptional circumstances). At the end of the 5 working days (or where that timescale is extended by the adoption agency, as soon as possible after the prospective adopter's observations are received) the following must be sent to the Adoption Panel at least 14 working days before the relevant Adoption Panel Meeting:

• The prospective adopter's report with the prospective adopter's observations thereon;
• Where the Agency Medical Advisor so advises, the medical report on the prospective adopter;
• References;
• Where applicable, relevant information from the prospective adopter's home local authority; and
• Any other relevant information obtained by the agency.

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

The date of the Adoption 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.

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

The assessing social worker will attend the Panel meeting (with their manager 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.

The Panel will consider the Prospective Adopter's Report together with all the supporting documentation, and make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker (OASY) regarding the suitability of the applicant to adopt a child. The panel may request the agency to obtain any other relevant information which it considers necessary, and may obtain legal advice as it considers necessary in relation to the case.

Where, during the Stage Two Assessment stage, the agency was of the opinion that the prospective adopter is unlikely to be suitable to adopt and prepared a brief Prospective Adopter's Report without having obtained all the assessment information, then the Adoption Panel must either request the preparation of a full Prospective Adopter's Report having obtained all the assessment information, or recommend that the prospective adopter is not suitable to adopt.

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

If the applicants attend the panel, the Panel chair will advise the applicant of the Panel recommendation on the day of the Panel Meeting. If the applicants choose not to attend the Panel then the Social Worker who undertook the assessment will advise the applicants of the Panel’s recommendation; this will be verbally, by telephone or, where appropriate, a home visit.

The decision as to whether the prospective adopter is suitable to adopt a child should be made within 4 months of the date on which the agency received the prospective adopter's notification that they wished to proceed with the assessment process.

The decision may be delayed:

• Where there are exceptional circumstances which mean that the decision cannot be made within that time, or
• Upon the request of the prospective adopter

If the decision is delayed, the reasons must be recorded on the prospective adopter's case record, along with supporting evidence and in the Prospective Adopter’s Report.

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 Panel and the minutes detailing the Panel's recommendation and 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, before arriving at a final decision. This discussion must be recorded and placed on the child's and the prospective adopter's Adoption Case Record.

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

The panel administrator will inform the Adoption Social Worker of the decision, so that it can be given to the applicants orally 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 Panel, a copy of the Panel recommendation will be sent to the applicant/s with the written notification of the decision.

If a prospective adopter is considered unsuitable to adopt during Stage Two, the prospective adopter will be able to make representations to the agency or request a review by the Independent Review Mechanism.

If the Agency Decision Maker makes a qualifying determination not to approve an application, the applicant will be advised that if they wish 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. N.B. Applicants can decide which representation procedure to choose - they cannot choose both.

After the 40 working day period has expired, the Agency Decision Maker must proceed to make a decision on the suitability of the prospective adopter to adopt.

Where the agency receives representations from the prospective adopter within 40 working days, the Agency Decision Maker may consider the representations and may invite the prospective adopter to meet to discuss their case. The Agency Decision Maker may, instead, refer the case to the Adoption Panel for further consideration. Where the case is referred to the Panel, the Panel must consider the case again and make a fresh recommendation as to the suitability of the prospective adopter to adopt a child. The prospective adopter must be invited to attend the Panel meeting to answer any questions the Adoption Panel may have.

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

In these circumstances, applicants who wish to attend the meeting of the Adoption 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 as soon as possible after the decision, and, in any event, within 7 working days of the Panel meeting. A copy of the Adoption Panel's further recommendation must also be sent, if different from the decision.

If the applicant decides to refer the matter to 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 minutes, if different, will be sent to the Independent Review within 10 working days of their written request (see also: Prepare for Review Panel (GOV.UK)).

The procedure for the Independent Review Mechanism is carried out by Coram Children's Legal Centre on behalf of the Department for Education; 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 (Adoption) will consider before a final decision is made.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant as soon as possible after the decision, and in any event, within 7 working days of the receipt of the Independent Review recommendation.

A copy of the report to the Panel, the Panel's recommendation and the decision, with reasons, must be retained on the applicant's Adoption Case Record.

In respect of a case referred to the independent review panel, the Secretary of State must also be given written notification of the decision.

This is prepared by an adoption agency, in consultation with a prospective adopter, where that prospective adopter has been approved by the agency as suitable to adopt a child.

It includes:

• Information about the duties of the adoption agency in respect of placements and reviews;
• Information about the role of the prospective adopter in identifying a child for whom they would be an appropriate adopter;
• Information about the process for making a representation (including a complaint); and
• Any other matters that the agency consider relevant.