Early Permanence: Fostering for Adoption, Concurrent Planning and Temporary Approval as Foster Carers of Approved Prospective Adopters

1. Introduction

This policy deals with placement of a child with carers who are approved both as prospective adopters and as temporary Trust foster carers. When a Local Authority/Trust:

• Considers that adoption may be an appropriate permanence plan for a looked after child; OR
• It is satisfied that the child should be placed for adoption; AND
• It has decided that placement with a connected person is not the most appropriate placement for the child; BUT
• It does not yet have authority to place the child for adoption through a placement order or parental consent.

Then it MUST consider placing the child with an adopter foster carer who is also temporarily approved as a foster carer adopter. To facilitate this, the Trust may grant an approved prospective adopter temporary approval as a foster carer. This is referred to as Fostering for Adoption (FfA).

Early Permanence (EP) is an umbrella term covering Concurrency and Fostering for Adoption placements. Both retain the potential for a child to be reunified with their family depending on specific care plans and circumstances and the outcome of the final court decision (National Early Permanence Practice Standards (Coram Centre for Early Permanence), Glossary of Terms).

The advantage of this type of placement is that the child will be placed with foster carers who, subject to a Placement Order being made, or parental consent, are expected to go on to become the child's adoptive family. The child therefore benefits from an early placement with their eventual permanent carers. Delay in finding a permanent family for young children who have already experienced neglect early on in their lives may have a profoundly damaging effect on their development.

This type of placement has potential to reduce this delay and the damage caused significantly and as a result:

• The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 were amended (in 2013) to allow approved prospective adopters to be given temporary approval as foster carers for a named child.

There is a duty upon Local Authorities/Trusts to consider a placement with Early Permanence carers whenever it is considering adoption or where the decision has been made that the child ought to be placed for adoption, but where the agency does not yet have authority to place the child for adoption through either a placement order or parental consent. (Section 22C(9B) Children Act 1989 (as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014).

These placements are foster placements. This placement will only become an adoptive placement if:

1. The Agency Decision Maker (ADM) has decided that the child should be placed for adoption; and
2. Either a Placement Order has been made; or
3.  Parental consent to the child's adoption is given.

It is possible that such a placement may not lead to adoption, for example because the child's plan changes where rehabilitation with the birth family is successful, because suitable family or friends come forward or because the court does not agree to make a Placement Order. This may mean that the child returns home or is moved to another permanence arrangement. But, for the vast majority of children in such placements, progression towards adoption will be the anticipated outcome.

Local Authorities/Trusts will need to ensure that people who are willing to care for a child in this way are fully aware that the placement may not lead to adoption, and that they have been given appropriate information and training so that they understand their role and legal responsibilities as foster carers and ongoing support once the placement has been made.

Section 3, Concurrent Planning is an established practice for placing children with dually approved carers. As these placements are foster placements, rather than placements for adoption, they could be made under existing legislation. The law has, however, developed to make the situation more explicit.

2. Examples of Situations Where Placements with Early Permanence Carers may be Appropriate

• Where parents have had one or more child/ren previously placed for adoption or other forms of permanent placement and the evidence strongly suggests that their circumstances have not changed and they pose the same risks as they did to the previous child/ren;
• The Trust does not have a proactive plan to rehabilitate the child as the circumstances of the parents are such to pose a serious on-going risk;
• Where this is the first child, the circumstances of the parents and the risks to the child are such that there is no proactive plan to return the child to the birth parents or to other family members;
• Where parents have indicated that they may want their child adopted, but have not formally consented.

The Trust should not consider such a placement where the child is Accommodated under section 20 Children Act 1989 and there is a reasonable likelihood that the child will be able to return to their birth parents or to family or friends.

3. Concurrent Planning

Concurrent planning is usually used in cases where rehabilitation with the birth family is still being attempted, but it is expected that adoption will become the plan for the child should the rehabilitation not be successful.

Concurrent planning requires the identification and delivery of a detailed rehabilitation plan while the child is placed with carers who are approved for both fostering and adoption who support that plan. If the rehabilitation plan proves to be unsuccessful, the foster carers can go on to adopt the child once Care Proceedings and the Placement Order application are completed.

It involves placing a Looked After child with fully approved foster carers who are also approved prospective adopters. As well as providing temporary care for the child, the foster carers will bring them to regular supervised contact sessions with their parents and other relatives. In addition, the carer may spend time with the parents at both ends of contact sessions to update them on the child's progress. This enables a relationship to develop which is supportive to the parents. The agency provides focussed support via a contact supervisor whose role is to advise the parents to help them to change their lifestyle and improve their parenting skills with the aim of enabling their child to return home to them. If this is the outcome, the child will have maintained contact with their parents and have sustained their attachment because of the regular contact visits. But the carers are also approved as adopters so that if the parents' rehabilitation plan is not successful, the child may be placed with the carers for adoption, ensuring a continuity of attachment.

If a social worker feels that concurrent planning should be considered for a child, they should discuss the circumstances with the Adoption Service.

4. Requirements Relevant to Fostering for Adoption

4.1 Duty to Consider Fostering for Adoption Placement

Under section 22C (9A and 9B) of the Children Act 1989 [as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014, where the Local Authority/Trust is considering adoption for a child or is satisfied that the child ought to be placed for adoption but is not yet authorised (either by consent or by Placement Order) to place the child for adoption, the authority MUST consider placing the child with a relative, friend or other Connected Person who is also a Local Authority/Trust foster carer or, where they decide that such a placement is not the most appropriate placement, then they must consider placing the child with a Local Authority/Trust foster carer who has been approved as a prospective adopter.

It is important to remember that the placement is likely to lead to adoption, and to be aware of the need to maintain the confidentiality of the placement address and any identifying details of the carers.

Where a child is placed in a fostering for adoption placement, the relationship which the child has with the person who is a prospective adopter must be considered by the Court or Adoption Agency alongside other relevant relationships the child has with their relatives or other persons (see s.9 Children and Social Work Act 2017 amending s.1(f) Adoption and Children Act 2002).

4.2 Requirements that do not apply to Fostering for Adoption

In making a fostering for adoption placement the Trust is not bound by certain requirements that normally apply to placements of a looked after child. These are:

• The duty to place the child near their home;
• The duty to avoid disrupting the child's education;
• The duty to place siblings together; and
• The duty to place the child within the Trust's area.

If, at any point during the planning of a Fostering for Adoption placement or if the child is already in such a placement, there is any change to the circumstances of prospective carers, including relatives, a planning meeting with the Fostering for Adoption carers and all professionals involved should take place to consider the new information at the earliest opportunity, so that the carers can make an informed choice about their position. Similarly, this also allows the Trust to consider their position in light of the change in circumstances.

5. Referral for Fostering for Adoption (FfA)

Every looked after child should have a permanence plan by the second statutory review. This will include considering whether a FfA placement would be suitable for the child.

When a child is relinquished for adoption, a child protection conference or a looked after child statutory review may recommend referral for a FfA placement.

When the family circumstances are known to the Trust the social worker should make a referral for family finding at an early stage, pre-birth where possible or at the latest within four weeks of the child being accommodated.

Where a child meets the criteria for a FfA placement, the child's social worker will consult:

• Their team manager;
• The child's IRO;
• An Adoption Manager; and
• Legal Services

About whether the child is suitable to be placed in a FfA placement. The team manager will make the decision and record it on the child's electronic recording system.

If the decision is that a FfA placement would be suitable, the social worker must make a referral to the adoption family finding team,

Referrals for fostering for adoption should be made to BSSFamilyFinding@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk.

The family finding team will make contact with the referring social worker within 2 working days of the referral. The family finding team will liaise with the child's social worker about timescales and the available fostering for adoption carers.

The child's social worker and the family finder will discuss the timing of the child's Looked After Medical and Adoption Medical.

Birth Parents: 
It is essential that the child's social worker consults with birth parents about their views as soon as FfA is being considered as a viable option. They must explain clearly that:

• It is the view of the Trust that the likelihood of the child returning to the birth parents is small and that placement with FfA carers is in the child's best interests; but:
• The Trust cannot pre-judge the outcome of the care proceedings and only the court can authorise placement for adoption; and:
• A FfA placement is a fostering placement and will remain so unless the court makes a Placement Order;

The social worker must ascertain and record the wishes and feelings of the child, their parents, and any other person with parental responsibility and others whom the Trust consider to be relevant.

Once the Trust is considering a FfA placement, it must also provide support to the birth parents. The child's social worker must explain to the birth parents (which includes fathers without parental responsibility for the child), guardians and others, the legal implications of a FfA placement.

6. Coordinating Support for the Carer

Within 5 working days of the referral the family finding manager will allocate the child a family finder or notify the adopter's social worker - where the prospective FfA carers are currently approved by Birmingham Children's Trust their allocated adoption social worker will provide supervision and support to the family.

The family finding manager will notify the fostering service and request the allocation of a fostering social worker who will offer support and guidance to the family finder/adoption social worker who will be supporting the FfA placement.

The family finder/adoption social worker will contact the fostering social worker and agree how they will keep each other informed about progress and plans, and advise each other about fostering/adoption policies.

Where the prospective carers are approved by another Local Authority/Trust/voluntary agency, the family finder will continue to work with the child's social worker and the approving agency's social worker. The family finder will maintain regular communication with the external agency's social worker keeping them updated of any actions/decisions.

The family finder/adoption social worker will make contact with the prospective FfA carers within 2 working days of allocation and will arrange a visit to them with the child's social worker within a further 5 working days. The child's social worker will provide the prospective carers with information about the implications of Fostering for Adoption (see Section 1). If they wish to proceed further, the child's social worker and the family finder/adoption social worker should share with them any information they have about the child, including any written reports/assessments that are not subject to court confidentiality.

The family finder/adoption social worker and the fostering support worker will arrange a second visit to the prospective FfA carers within 5 working days of the first. The aim of this meeting is to discuss the fostering role in more detail with them.

The family finder/adoption social worker will inform the child's social worker of the prospective carers' decision.

Where a family wish to proceed (and the prospective adopters are not dually approved), the child's social worker will book the earliest date available for an Agency Decision via AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk for the prospective adopters' temporary approval as foster carers. The decision is made by the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption).

The family finder/adoption social worker will co-ordinate and submit the following paperwork to the panel administration team for the Agency Decision Maker's attention to AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk:

• The Prospective Adopters' Report;
• The adoption panel minutes and agency decision sheet relating to the adopters' approval;
• A recent assessment of the child's needs (for example Child's Permanence Report; pre-birth assessment; care plan; minutes of a looked after child review; minutes of a Child Protection Conference; or minutes of a pre-proceedings meeting);
• A written statement from the child's social worker that there are no family members being considered by the Trust;
• The record of the decision-making relating to this placement, for example stage 1 connected person's assessments.
• A summary report written by the child's social worker stating why rehabilitation is not being actively pursued and why the specific FfA carer is being considered.

Due to tight timescales there is some discretion in relation to which documents are most important in giving the Agency Decision Maker a sense of the child's needs.

The family finder's role will increase once the Placement Order is granted and they will take the lead with the adoption matching process.

7. Temporary Approval as Foster Carers of Approved Prospective Adopters

Approved prospective adopters can be given temporary approval as foster carers under 25A of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. This temporary foster carer approval process can be carried out at the same time as the adopter approval process.

This temporary approval can be given for a named Looked After child, where the Local Authority/Trust consider that this is in the child's best interests.

Before giving such approval, the responsible authority must:

• Assess the suitability of that person to care for the child as a foster carer; and
• Consider whether, in all the circumstances and taking into account the services to be provided by the responsible authority, the proposed arrangements will safeguard and promote the child's welfare and meet the child's needs as set out in the Care Plan.

It is not necessary to carry out the full process of fostering assessment and approval.

Temporary approval to foster is given by the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption). The Agency Decision Maker must:

• Be satisfied that:
  • The placement is the most appropriate placement available for the child and will safeguard and promote his/her welfare; and
  • The child's wishes and feelings have been ascertained and given due consideration; and
  • The IRO has been informed; and
• If their whereabouts are known, notify the child's parent(s)/guardian of the proposed placement - see Section 9, Notifications.

8. After the FfA Placement

From the point the child is placed with a Fostering for Adoption carer, the carer is entitled to the fostering maintenance fee that the fostering service would normally pay. The family finder/adoption social worker will coordinate the setting up of payments.

The family are entitled to the Early Permanence settling in grant from the time the Early Permanence placement is approved.

From the outset of the FfA arrangement the family finder/adoption social worker will act as the carers' supervising social worker. The family finder/adoption social worker will receive advice and guidance on applying the relevant fostering responsibilities from the fostering social worker. The family finder/adoption social worker is responsible for:

• Completion of the Foster Carer Agreement;
• Completion of the Placement Plan and delegated responsibilities (prior to the placement or within 5 days at the latest);
• Timeliness of visits and drawing up the supervision plan (frequency and content);
• Recording Requirements for example:
  • Medical Sheets;
  • Contact Communications;
  • Weekly diary Sheets,
  • Accident or Incident Recording,
• Carer training and development programme (Although expected to commence Support and Development Standards training, it is recognised that the carers might not complete them before the child is placed for adoption with them).

Where carers are temporarily approved as foster carers the Trust may take a 'lighter touch' in terms of applying the fostering regulations for example less frequent recording and the first review of approval to foster 12 months after approval.

Weekly visits to the placement should take place for the first four weeks of the placement. The child's social worker will visit within the first week. The child's social worker and the family finder/adoption social worker will agree the arrangements for the visits for the remaining 3 weeks.

After the first four weeks the child's social worker will visit the child at least every six weeks in line with statutory requirements, and the family finder/adoption social worker will visit regularly in line with the Children Act 1989 Guidance - Volume 4.

When the family finder/adoption social worker becomes aware of timing of the final hearing in the care proceedings they must contact the panel administrator AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk to book a date for an adoption matching panel prior to the final hearing.

When the court makes a placement order or the parents give consent to adoption, the child's social worker and the family finder/adoption social worker will need to present all the relevant matching documentation to the Adoption Panel so that placement for adoption can be formally approved. When the Agency Decision Maker has agreed an adoptive placement, the Fostering for Adoption placement will become an adoptive placement. The Decision Maker will record that the carers are de-registered as foster carers (see Section 9, Notifications).

The family finder/adoption social worker sets up and agrees the adoption placement arrangements, including the date, and notifies AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk of the adoption placement date (see Section 9, Notifications).

Once the status of the placement is an adoptive placement, the carers will become eligible for adoption pay and leave, and the fostering allowances cease. All of the adoption regulations that specify the frequency of social worker visits, timescales for statutory reviews and the timescale for the making of an adoption order will apply (see Section 9, Notifications).

The family finder will no longer be involved after the first adoption review. The child's social worker and adoption social worker will continue to support the child and the family under the adoption regulations.

9. Notifications

Temporary Approval as FfA Carers for a Specific Child

When a decision has been made to place a child in a Fostering for Adoption placement, the family finder will notify the Panel Team: AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk - of the decision and provide the name of the IRO.

The Panel Team will:

• Notify the prospective adopter in writing;
• Add the temporary approval as foster carers to the electronic recording system;
• Notify the IRO by email of the decision that the prospective adopters are temporarily approved as foster carers;
• Notify fostering payments of the decision and provide them with the name of the family finder/adoption social worker who will contact them after the planning meeting to activate the fostering payments.

The child's social worker will:

• Explain the decision to the child in an appropriate manner, having regard to the child's age and understanding;
• Explain the legal implications to the birth parents (this includes fathers without Parental Responsibility). Where the child is voluntarily Accommodated under section 20 of the Children Act, the notification should remind the birth parents of their right to remove the child from the Trust's care and should provide advice on access to legal advice and appropriate advisory bodies. The parents should be informed that the Trust cannot pre-judge the outcome of Care Proceedings and only the court can authorise placement for adoption if the parents do not consent to their child being placed for adoption.

FfA Carers are Matched for Adoption with a Specific Child

The panel notification policy for matching a child with prospective adopters applies and in addition the Panel Team: AdoptionPanelBusinessSupport@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk - will:

• Update the Care First approval - FfA carers are de-registered as foster carers;
• Notify via email the IRO that the FfA carers are de-registered as foster carers and matched for adoption.

Once the date of placement is received from the family finder/adoption social worker fostering payments must be informed of the placement date and the fostering payments will cease from this date.

10. Placing a Child with a Sibling Adopter under a Family and Friends Care Arrangement

Sibling adopters can be considered connected persons based on the sibling relationship. Where a sibling of a child who is being considered for a FfA placement is already adopted and the sibling's adopters are not currently approved as prospective adopters, consideration can be given to placing the child under a family and friends care arrangement (regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement & Case Review (England) Regulation 2010) - see the Placements with Connected Persons Policy. But note that the full policy for making a fostering for adoption placement above must be followed.

Where there is more than one sibling adopter that could be considered, the child's social workers should make a referral to the adoption service (see Section 5, Referral for Fostering for Adoption). In all cases the child's social worker should not make direct contact with prospective adopters until a referral to the adoption service has been made. An adoption manager will record on the child's electronic recording system the outcome of the decision making, and agreement should be reached about who will contact the prospective adopters.

The prospective adopters must either be approved as foster carers under the 2011 Regulations or temporarily approved as foster carers under the 2010 regulations. The National Minimum Standards (NMS) for Fostering Services apply, and standard 30 relates specifically to family and friends foster carers. The Statutory Guidance for Fostering Services (2011) provides more detailed information about the assessment and approval of foster carers in relation to family and friends foster carers as it does for other carers.

Whilst many of the issues that go with being a family and friends carer are likely to be the same whether or not the carers are approved as foster carers, being foster carers brings with it additional responsibilities and obligations which have to be met. The Trust will be responsible for the child's care plan and for supervision the family and friends foster carer, whilst the family and friends foster carer will exercise delegated authority within the overall framework of the care plan and the placement plan and will be expected to demonstrate they are meeting the child's needs as set out in the care plan and engage in appropriate learning and development.

11. Foster Carers who Adopt

Foster carers wishing to adopt do not meet the legislative requirements for Fostering for Adoption. FfA applies when the primary approval is as prospective adopters who are then temporarily approved as foster carers.

Foster carers have a right to institute their own adoption application once the child has lived with them for a specific period of time (this will be a "non-agency application"). However, foster carers should be encouraged to participate in the adoption agency process.

Where a foster carer applies directly to the court for an adoption order and the Trust opposes the application, their right to support under the Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005 is limited to counselling, advice and information (the Local Authority/Trust has a power, but not a duty, to provide a wider range of services). Where the Trust supports the application to the court for an adoption order, the application should be made as an "agency application", in which case the foster carer and the child will have a right to an assessment of their adoption support needs.

Foster carers who are requesting to adopt a child they are currently looking after should be visited by an adoption social worker and the child's social worker. Information should be shared with the foster carers about adoption. Discussion should focus on how the foster carers would meet the child's long term needs, and they should be given advice about the fact that the adoption policy apply in their case as in any other.

A joint report should be written up within 10 working days of the visit by the child's social worker and adoption social worker, detailing the strengths and challenges and providing a recommendation. The report should be provided to the relevant Children's Team Manager and the Adoption Manager. The two managers should confer and a decision should be made within 5 working days of receipt of the report as to whether to proceed with the foster carer's adoption enquiry. Where managers are unable to reach an agreement within 5 working days the decision will be made by the Adoption Head of Service.

Where the decision is that the foster carers should be considered as adopters, the fast-track approval policy should be followed.

12. Ending Temporary Approval as Foster Carers

The temporary approval period expires when:

• The placement is terminated by the Trust;
• The approval as a prospective adopter is terminated;
• The prospective adopter is approved as a foster carer;
• The prospective adopter gives 28 days' written notice that they no longer wish to be temporarily approved as a foster parent in relation to the child; or
• The child is placed for adoption with the prospective adopter in accordance with the Adoption and Children Act 2002.