3.11.4 Adoption Panel Procedures |
Contents
1. Membership
- The Adoption and Permanency Panel has a maximum of 10 members present at any one meeting and has an Independent Chair appointed by the Director for Family Services;
- Adoption Panel members are drawn from a 'central list' of people considered to be suitable to be members of an adoption panel. There is no maximum number on the list although the quorum for each meeting is 5 members, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair, one social worker with experience of adoption and at least one must be an independent member. A chair and up to two vice chairs must be appointed. The Kensington and Chelsea adoption panel has an independent chair and two vice chairs.
The central list must include (in addition to the Independent Chair):
- At least two adoption social workers with at least three years’ relevant post qualifying experience in child care social work practice. Both of the social workers should have direct experience of adoption work;
- At least three independent members one of whom should be, if possible, an adoptive parent and one an adopted person;
- The Medical Adviser is appointed as one of the independent members of the Panel and can hold office for as long as he/she is the Medical Adviser.
The Panel has two Deputy Chairs, who are appointed after interview with the Adoption Manager and the Panel Chair. The Agency Decision Maker must not be a member of the Panel.
The panel also has a professional advisor (who cannot be included on the Central List) and a legal adviser who attend the panel meetings.
Quorum
The quorum is 5, one of whom must be the Chair or Deputy Chair, one of the adoption social worker representatives and at least 1 independent member.
A person shall not be appointed as an independent Chair or Panel member if he/she has been employed by the local authority within the last year in their Family Service, is related to such a person, or is the adoptive parent of a child placed for adoption by the adoption agency. This also applies where the child has been placed by another agency, but the person has been approved by this agency.
All those on the central list of adoption panel members have the opportunity to observe an adoption panel meeting before they sit as a member.
Panel members have induction training completed within 10 weeks of inclusion on the central list. The panel member induction covers the requirement for all staff to be aware of The Local Safeguarding Children's Board procedures for managing allegations against those who work with children and the need to refer persons to the Independent safeguarding authority.
1a. Conditions of Membership
No Panel member can begin work until:
- They have been interviewed;
- Their identity has been checked, their qualifications and right to work in the UK has been verified;
- A Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check has been completed;
- Two references have been received;
- He or she has signed a confidentiality agreement with the manager of the Adoption Service;
- He or she has signed an agreement to the performance objectives and annual appraisal;
- He or she has received a copy of the Agency’s whistle blowing policy.
Tenure
There is no limit to the period of tenure for panel members. However panel members must attend at least 66% of meetings and their continued membership of the panel is subject to satisfactory performance review.
Performance Review
Written information about expectations arising from their appointment should be given to new appointees to the Central List (in relation to their performance objectives, participation in induction and other training, safeguarding the confidentiality of information provided to the Panel and their general conduct , Confidentiality and General Conduct) and they should be asked to sign a written agreement confirming their acceptance of these before taking up their appointment.
Each Panel member’s performance should be reviewed annually against agreed performance objectives. The content and format of the appraisal are set out in Appendix 1: Conditions of Appointment, Appraisal and Performance Criteria for Panel Members.
The performance of the Panel Chair should be reviewed annually by the Agency Decision Maker, who may attend a proportion of Panel meetings as an observer. Views about the Panel Chair’s performance should be sought from other Panel members and from those who attend Panel meetings.
For all other Panel members, the annual performance review should be conducted by the Agency Adviser to the Panel and the Panel Chair.
Where there are concerns about a Panel member’s behaviour either inside or outside the meetings, and attempts to resolve the difficulties have not been resolved by discussion between the Chair and the member concerned, the matter will be raised by the Chair with the Panel Adviser and the Head of Service. The Head of Service will decide whether the appointment should be ended and, if so, will advise the Panel member in writing giving clear reasons for the recommendation and giving one month’s notice.’
A member of the Adoption and Permanency Panel may resign his/her office at any time by giving one months notice in writing to the adoption agency.
1b. Requirement to appoint an Agency Adviser to the Panel
The adoption agency must appoint a senior member of staff to:
- Assist with appointment, termination and review of Panel members;
- Be responsible for arranging the induction and training of Panel members;
- Be responsible for liaison between the agency and the Panel;
- Monitor the performance of Panel members and the administration of the Panel;
- Give such advice to the Panel as it may request in relation to any case or generally;
- Maintain an overview of the quality of the agency reports to the Panel;
- Provide quarterly reports to the Panel on the progress of children waiting for adoption and approved adoptive families;
- Make an annual report to the adoption agency and members on the work of the Adoption and Permanency Panel.
The Agency Adviser must be a registered social worker and have at least five years relevant post qualifying experience and, in the opinion of the agency, relevant management experience. He or she is not a member of the Panel. His or her role is to attend all meetings to to ensure all the necessary reports are available for the Panel, to advise Panel on social work and procedural matters and to report to social workers and their managers on issues arising from Panel meetings.
2. Meetings
- The RBKC Adoption and Permanency Panel meet at least monthly, on every first Monday between 2pm and 5pm. The Panel Coordinator with the Chair’s authority arranges additional special meetings at short notice to avoid delay and as necessary, where for example there is a need to consider an urgent placement or where the child in question is the subject of care proceedings and the timing of the Panel consideration needs to dovetail with the Court timetable. The venue is Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8.
The Panel Coordinator, in consultation with the Panel Adviser, prepares the agenda for each meeting and draws members from the Central Panel The Coordinator sends the agenda and supporting papers to members before the meeting. The panel must have papers five working days before the meeting. For meetings taking place on Mondays, the papers are dispatched by first class post on Friday 10 calendar days before the meeting takes place.
A check list of requirements for each recommendation within the Panel’s remit is presented in Appendix 2: Checklist of Required Documents for Panel.
The Panel’s legal adviser is invited to attend all Panel meetings but is not a Panel member.
The Panel Coordinator, in consultation with the Agency Adviser, will also arrange for other specialists to attend Panel meetings as appropriate, for example where there are issues relating to a child’s culture or the child’s Children’s Guardian wishes to attend.
The agenda will include at the beginning an opportunity for any Panel member to declare an interest in any item on the agenda. If an interest is declared the meeting must then decide whether the Panel member should withdraw during consideration of the item.
Decisions
The Chair will ask each Panel member to express a view on the recommendation. In the event of a disagreement between Panel members, the Chair will consider whether further information is required or whether the Panel should go ahead and make a recommendation on the basis of the majority view. In this event, any dissenting view should be fully recorded in the minutes.
3. Purpose and Function
The Adoption Panel contributes to the running and quality assurance of the local authority's adoption service and receives annual reports on the service and its performance.
The Adoption and Permanency Panel has an overriding responsibility to promote good practice, consistency of approach and fairness in all aspects of the adoption service in accordance with its procedures and values
Recommendations
As part of this function, the Panel makes recommendations as to the following:
- The suitability of prospective adoptive applicants as adoptive parents (including where written representations are received from prospective adoptive applicants after a decision to refuse an application has been made, and where advice is sought over whether or not a particular assessment should continue or be ended);
- Whether a child should be placed for adoption;
- Where permanent fostering or Special Guardianship (as opposed to adoption) is the plan for a Looked After child, whether the plan is in the interests of the child;
- Where adoption is the preferred plan, whether permanent fostering is an acceptable alternative if suitable prospective adoptive parents have not been identified in a time scale which is suitable to meet the needs of the child, having regard to their age and length of time as a looked after child;
- Where adoption is the plan, the placement of children with particular adoptive parents;
- Any other matter related to its functions, which the Chair considers appropriate to refer for consideration.
The Panel’s recommendation should not be conditional and it should not make any “in principle” recommendations.
Timescales
Adoption Panels make a recommendation on the suitability of a prospective adopter to adopt within eight months of receipt of the formal application.
Adoption Panels make a recommendation on whether a child is suitable to be placed for adoption within two months of the Looked After Review where adoption was identified as the child’s identified Permanence Plan.
Adoption Panels make a recommendation on the proposed placement of a child with particular prospective adopters within six months of the Agency Decision Maker’s decision that the child is suitable to be placed for adoption.
Where the timescales are not met, the Adoption Panel should record the reasons.
Advice
The Adoption and Permanency Panel may, however, provide the agency with advice, such as where the agency is considering Parallel Planning.
The Panel must also consider and may also give advice on the following:
- Where a child is recommended as suitable for adoption, the future contact arrangements and whether a Placement Order should be applied for;
- Where prospective adopters are recommended as suitable to adopt, the number, age range, gender, likely needs and background of the children who may be placed with them;
- Where a placement of a child with particular prospective adopters is recommended, the future contact arrangements, the proposed adoption support and whether/how the exercise of Parental Responsibility should be restricted.
Monitoring
The Adoption and Permanency Panel also monitors the progress of individual children for whom adoption is the plan up to the making of an adoption order, through quarterly progress reports as required under the Placement for Adoption Procedure and provided by the Agency Adviser. (See Placement for Adoption Procedure).
The Adoption and Permanency Panel also receives Disruption Reports in relation to any breakdowns in adoptive placements, and may consider changes to children’s adoption plans as a result. (See Ending (Disruption) of Adoptive Placements Procedure).
The Adoption Panel should also provide feedback to the adoption agency every six months on the quality of reports and whether there is a fair and consistent approach across the service.
4. Minutes
The Adoption and Permanency Panel must make a written record of its proceedings and keep a written record of its recommendations and the reasons for those recommendations.
The Panel minutes will always record the information in relation to the following:
- The reports received. (The Panels requirements as to reports are specified in the relevant procedures elsewhere in the Manual):
- Who attended and for which part of the discussion;
- Key issues and views expressed by Panel members;
- Medical advice on health information and reports on children and adopters;
- Legal advice;
- The Panel’s conclusions;
- The Panel’s recommendations and reasons (including any reservation expressed by any member);
- Any advice given by the Panel.
- The wishes and feelings of the child and, if not acted on, the reasons;
- The wishes and feelings of the parents;
- The wishes and feelings of members of the extended family and significant others;
- The counselling of the parents;
- The child’s assessed needs;
- Alternatives to adoption/permanent placement considered and reasons for rejection;
- Any ethnic, cultural or religious issues and advice obtained;
- The views of the Children’s Guardian if known;
- The assessment regarding post-adoption contact;
- The assessment regarding post-adoption support needs.
The Panel minutes will be kept on every child’s Adoption Case Record. Separate records will be kept for each child of a sibling group.
The Panel Chair is responsible for ensuring that the Panel’s records are accurate.
The Panel Coordinator will prepare the minutes to be initially checked by the Agency Adviser and the Chair. The minutes should be sent to the Agency Decision Maker within three working days of the panel meeting.
The Panel Coordinator and Panel advisor will prepare letters to be signed by the Agency Decision Maker informing prospective permanent carers and birth parents of the agency decision and where appropriate children.
This letter will be sent to prospective adopters and birth parents within five working days of the Agency Decision Makers decision, following verbal notification of the decision within 48 hours of the decision.
Prospective carers will also be informed verbally of the Panel recommendations immediately after attending Panel or within 48 hours if not present.
Social workers for the child will inform birth parents verbally of the Panel’s recommendations within 24 hours if possible. Where appropriate the social worker will also tell the child.
5. Reports
Who may prepare reports on adoption issues for Panel
Only people who fall within one of three categories may prepare reports on adoption issues for Panel.
- A social worker employed by the agency with the necessary experience; 3 years post qualifying experience in child care social work, including direct experience of adoption work, or a qualified social worker who is supervised by a social worker with the above experience;
- A social worker acting on behalf of the agency (an independent social worker) who has the necessary experience and is supervised by a social worker employed by the agency with the necessary experience;
- A student training to become a social worker who is placed with the agency as part of a course and supervised by a social worker employed by the agency with the necessary experience.
Reports to the Agency on the work of the Panel
The Head of Service will prepare a report for members and the adoption agency every six months which will given information about the work of the Adoption Service and the work of the Panel. The Agency Adviser will liaise with the Head of Service to provide the appropriate statistical information.
Appendix 1: Conditions of Appointment, Appraisal and Performance Criteria for Panel Members
The Adoption Agency Regulations 2005 require each panel member's performance to be monitored (regulation 8-(1) (c)) and reviewed 8-(1) (a).
Panel members for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Adoption and permanence Panel will be reviewed under the following performance criteria:
Attendance
- National regulation does not impose a maximum term for those included on the Central List. Local practice however is for those on the Central List to serve for three years in any term up to a maximum of three terms. New members of the Central List will be asked to commit to a full term on initial appointment;
- Panel members must attend at least 75% of Panel meetings in any twelve-month period;
- Members should arrive punctually for the beginning of each meeting and if unable to attend inform the coordinator before the meeting.
Confidentiality
- Panel members must sign a confidentiality agreement as part of their terms of membership;
- Panel members must declare any conflict of interest which may arise for them in the course of their work on the panel. If a Panel member has some knowledge of a case, whether in a personal or professional capacity, they should declare an interest and inform the chair of Panel at the earliest opportunity so that an alternative member can be invited, in required, to ensure that the Panel is quorate.
Development
- Panel members should keep abreast of legislation, regulations and guidance;
- Panel members are invited to attend an annual joint training day with adoption agency staff;
- Panel members have access to appropriate training and skills development through the West London adoption and permanence consortium. The Panel Advisor keeps members abreast of changes to legislation, regulation and guidance;
- Panel members should attend at least one training event a year. This could be the panel's annual study day or an external event related to the work of the panel.
Contribution
- Panel members should be able to identify relevant issues arising from their reading of the reports and papers presented to the Panel;
- In doing so Panel members should be aware of and sensitive to issues of diversity and cultural difference;
- Members should be able to comment on the quality of the social work reports prepared by the agency or its agents;
- Members should be able to assist in the formulation of reasons for the Panel's recommendations to the agency decision-maker.
Participation
- Panel members should be prepared to add to the discussion of cases at the meeting;
- Members should be able to formulate relevant questions and put them to social workers and prospective adopters who attend the panel;
- Panel members should treat all applicants, panel members and advisers with courtesy and respect.
Communication
- Panel members should possess the necessary communication skills to draw out clarifying information from social workers, prospective adopters and children when they attend;
- Panel members should treat all contributing to the meeting with courtesy and respect.
Arrangements for Appraisal
- Each panel member will have an annual performance review;
- The review will take the form of a meeting with the Panel Advisor and the Panel Chair;
- Panel members will receive a summary of their review meeting in writing from the Panel advisor within two weeks of the meeting.
The agency will meet expenses incurred for attending the meeting.
Content of the review
- During the year Panel members will be asked to complete evaluation forms on the reports they have read after the panel meeting. These will be used as feedback to the agency and as a basis for discussion at the annual review;
- Presenting social workers and adopters will be asked to comment on their experiences at panel and any relevant comments shared at the review meeting;
- The Panel coordinator will send the panel member a record of their attendance and contributions before their annual review meeting;
- In advance of the meeting Panel members will be asked to complete a training record and to choose a case for discussion at their review.
Fees and expenses
The Agency considers panel members as office holders and they are subject to PAYE and National Insurance contributions. The Agency will pay panel members an annual fee of £1,399 plus travel expenses (2011 rates). Panel members may claim reasonable expenses e.g. travel in connection with their attendance at Panel on production of receipts.
Appendix 2: Checklist of Required Documents for Panel
Click here to view the Checklist of Required Documents for Panel.
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