BOROUGH OF POOLE
REPORT TO COMMUNITY SUPPORT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
25th November 2003
SUBJECT: ANNUAL REPORT FROM POOLE’S ADOPTION PANEL FOR 2002/3
PART OF PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN: NO
1.PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
1.1.To inform members about the activity and responsibilities of the Poole
Adoption Panel between April 2002- March 2003.
2.DECISION REQUIRED
That the Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
2.1.Receives the report from the Poole Adoption Panel
2.2.Notes the proposals for future work of the Adoption Panel
3.THE BOROUGH OF POOLE’S PHILOSOPHY ON ADOPTION
3.1.The promotion of the welfare of each child looked after by the Borough of Poole is paramount. The Agency Adoption Statement of Philosophy, Purpose and Intent was updated July 2003 and is attached (See Appendix 1)
3.2.Central Government wishes to increase the use of adoption as a means of securing permanency for children who are Looked After by local authorities. The Adoption Panel has a clear role in this.
3.3The Terms of reference for the Adoption Panel have been updated. (See appendix 2)
4,PANEL MEMBERSHIP
4.1.The Panel welcomed three new members during the year – Councillor Jeff Allen, who is the elected Member representative, Val Houghton, who is a social work representative and Brenda Thorne, an Independent Member who is also an adoptive parent.
4.2.Some panel members have resigned - Geraldine Wetton, Independent Member, due to family commitments and three members retired in accordance with the Regulations, having served three years. These were Councillor Mrs Wendy Beckwith; Sandra Watt, Independent Member, and Mandy Curcic, social worker representative. Sue Kirkpatrick continues to be the Chair of the Adoption Panel. . It has not yet proved possible to recruit a birth parent or a deputy medical adviser.
4.3.The Panel has generally met on a monthly basis, apart from one occasion when the meeting was cancelled, due to there being no new cases to be presented.
There was a one-day training event on 28th May 2002 for Adoption Panel members facilitated by Peter Wrighton from BAAF. The theme for the day was the Role of the Adoption Panel and updates on National Policy. Discussion has also taken place during Panel meetings on the Government Consultations on Adoption, including proposed changes to Adoption Panels and legal issues; newly introduced standards; Court process and reasons for delays. Due to the increase number of children and applicants being present at Panel, there has been less time to discuss wider issues.
5.POOLE’S ADOPTION AGENCY PERFORMANCE IN 2002/2003
5.1.The Panel continues to make recommendations to the Head of Children and Families Services Unit as to the acceptance of a child for adoption, for matching of a child to suitable adoptive parents, and for the approval of adoptive parents. The Panel also considers adoption allowances and Residence Order allowances. In addition, it monitors the progress of children awaiting adoptive placements and those who have been placed with adoptive parents but where Adoption Orders have not yet been made. The Panel Adviser updates panel members on the progress of these children at every Panel.
5.2.During the year 2002-2003 the cases considered by the Panel were as follows:-
- Couples recommended as adopters9
- Couples considered but not approved1
- Change of approval conditions-
- Children recommended for adoption14
- Children recommended for matching7
The number of couples recommended as adopters increased from 3 in 2000/2001 to 7 in 2001/2 and 9 in 2002/3. Some children recommended for adoption were also approved for long term fostering where appropriate because of possible difficulties in finding an adoptive placement. We have been able to place some children with disabilities with long term foster carers. The British Association of Adoption & Fostering has reported that nationally it is harder to place young people over 10 and especially those from a minority ethnic background, those with a disability and boys over 5. The average age of young people presented to Adoption Panel was 7 years.
5.3During 2002/2003 the progress of children approved for adoption before or during the year is as follows:-
- Children where Adoption Orders made5
- Children placed for adoption and awaiting Orders4
- Children waiting for placement at 31.3.0320
During the year no children placed for adoption left the placement prior to an Adoption Order being made.
The number of children awaiting placement has significantly increased from 11 in 2001/02 to 20 in 2002/03, although there were some matchings being pursued for children. The number of children being approved for adoption may reflect an improvement in timely care planning. There is an increasing complexity of needs of some children awaiting an adoptive placement, and a consequent difficulty in finding suitable adoptive placements. In some cases, the Court process has caused some delay.
5.4.The Quality Protects Initiative sets out two key indicators by which Elected Members can evaluate the performance of the adoption service for looked after children. These are set out in paragraphs 5.5. and 5.6. below.
5.5.Percentage of looked after children adopted annually
For 2001/2002 this was the number of looked after children where an Adoption Order was made in the year as a percentage of all children looked after at 31st March 2002.
The performance indicator changed in 2001/2002 to the number of looked after children on whom an adoption order was made in the year as a percentage of all children looked after for at least six months at 31st March 2002.
TABLE A
2001/2002National average6.8%
Unitary Authorities7.8%
Poole’s benchmarking authorities7.4%
Borough of Poole5.2%
2002/2003Poole Aim6.5%
Borough of Poole (actual)4.2%
Poole therefore performed less well than in the previous year.
5.6.Average length of time children are looked after prior to an adoption
order being made
TABLE B
2000/2001National average34 months
Unitary authorities31.2 months
Borough of Poole45.0 months
2001/2002Unitary authorities (planned position)31.6 months
Borough of Poole (actual)30 months
2002/2003Borough of Poole (actual)27 months
This shows an improved position for Poole over the years 2001/2002. On occasion delays in Court proceedings contribute to extending the length of time it takes for a child to be adopted. The Public Service Agreement target is that by 2004/05 at least 95% of looked after children for whom adoption is the plan should be placed for adoption within 12 months of the decision that adoption is in the child’s best interests. Four out of the five, or 80% of the children adopted from Poole in 2002/03 were placed for adoption within this timescale.
The Panel has continued to consider issues relating to children’s ethnicity and how to achieve matching with adoptive parents which is both appropriate to the child’s needs but also takes into account the need for children not to be waiting indefinitely for adoptive placements.
During the year 5 children from ethnic minorities have been matched with permanent carers, either long term foster carers or adoptive parents, from appropriate ethnic backgrounds.
5.7Plans for looked after children have become more robust, due in part to Looked After Reviews being undertaken by our Independent Reviewing Officers. There has been an additional 0.5 Reviewing Officer in post since October 2002, funded by Quality Protects money. Part of the responsibility is to determine whether care plans are appropriate and that they are being implemented within agreed timescales.
The increase in adoption work has necessitated the move of 0.5 of a post from fostering to undertake adoption work. The two existing workers in the Adoption Team have needed to prioritise work with the effect that some tasks have had to be put on hold.
5.8 .The South West Adoption Network continues to assist us with our adoption counselling work. Fifteen referrals were made last year, following initial interviews with an adoption worker. Forty five Adoption information exchanges are in place between adopters and birth relatives facilitated by the Adoption Team who may ask the South West Adoption Network (SWAN) to assist in setting up or arranging.
5.9 Improvements have continued to be made in the collation of statistical
information through the Children and Families I.T. system. The Adoption website is being updated.
5.10The Borough of Poole continues to be a member of the South Coast Adoption Consortium alongside four other local authorities. Places are shared on an exchange basis and there is no payment between consortium members. At the end of March the consortium owed Poole 4 places.
5.11 Poole joined the South West Adoption Consortium during 2002 to expand our opportunities to place children for adoption. Additionally, the Borough of Poole continues to make exchange arrangements with other local authorities where possible and also contacts voluntary sector agencies in relation to the placing of children who have special needs, which make them hard to place.
5.12 Referrals to the new National Adoption Register were expected to increase opportunities for matching children with adopters. However, the Register has resulted in only one match for a Poole child and only 30 nationally.
6.TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
6.1During the last year the an adoption strategy group met to consider the development of adoption support services and co worked with SWAN (South West Adoption Network) to provide a training afternoon in 2003/4. It will be necessary to have further meetings of an adoption strategy group plus training for staff and Panel members to address the changes arising from the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
The participation of birth parents at the Adoption Panel is under active consideration. Birth parents should be invited to give their views in writing to the Panel either themselves or through a representative of their choice. The Panel is considering whether birth parents should be invited to attend.
7.CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS
7.1This is a time of great change for Adoption Services with the implementation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the National Standards for England, and the Adoption National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2003. The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) will inspect each Adoption Agency every three years. The NCSC report of the Inspection of Poole’s Adoption Service August 2003 will be reported to committee when the report is received and the action plan completed. Poole’s Joint Review of Social Services Action Plan identified continuing work on securing permanency in good timescales for children who cannot remain with birth parents.
7.2Work has been undertaken to prepare for the Adoption Support Services (Local Authorities) (England) regulations 2003 which became effective on 31st October 2003. A separate Committee Report is provided for information.
7.3 The target for the number of adopters to approve in 2003-4 is 8. This is crucial in meeting targets for placement of Poole children for adoption as placements can be exchanged outside of Poole and Adoption budgets used effectively to meet the needs of children.
7.4 Officers and the Panel will be assisted in progressing adoptions in Poole through the Adoption and Permanence Taskforce, a part of the Department of Health, with the remit of assisting local authorities to increase the numbers of children adopted. The Taskforce has already done work with a large number of local authorities.
7.5 During the year the Panel will be ensuring that it complies with all new legislation and guidance. There will be a need for changes in the Children & Families Adoption Procedures and for these procedures to be widely promoted.
7.6The Adoption Panel and Officers look forward to a productive year and
anticipate an increase in the numbers of children being recommended for adoption and the numbers being placed through more effective and prompt permanency planning for children and assessment of adoptive parents .
Neelam Bhardwaja
Head of Children & Families Social Services
BACKGROUND PAPERS
Contact Officer:Joyce Spiller, Children’s Services Manager
Telephone Number: 01202 714713
Date: 18 September 2003
Report Ref: jb/central admin/committee reports/adoption/0602