Early Permanence: Fostering for Adoption, Concurrent Planning and Temporary Approval as Foster Carers of Approved Prospective Adopters
Related guidance
- The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review
- Fostering For Adoption: Practice Guidance (CoramBAAF)
- National Early Permanence Practice Standards (Coram Centre for Early Permanence) - the key aim is for 'the standards to be used as a tool to enable local authorities, regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies to progress and secure consistency and coherence in the early permanence offer to children within their governance and partnership arrangements'.
Amendment
In January 2024, this chapter was refreshed and a link added to National Early Permanence Practice Standards (Coram Centre for Early Permanence).
This procedure deals with placement of a child with carers who are dually approved, i.e. approved both as prospective adopters and as local authority foster carers.
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 to consider a placement with dually approved 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:
- The Agency Decision Maker (ADM) has decided that the child should be placed for adoption; and
- Either a Placement Order has been made; or
- 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 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.
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.
- 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 local authority 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 local authority 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 his or her birth parents or to family or friends.
Fostering for Adoption enables Local Authorities to place children with adoptive parents who are Dual Approved through attendance at the Adoption Panel.
This enables children to be placed at the earliest opportunity, possibly even from birth. The children who are likely to be considered would be either relinquished babies or children who have already had siblings placed for Adoption and the Local Authority has completed a Pre-Birth Assessment and has determined there has been no significant change in the Birth Parents capacity to parent a child and protect from significant harm.
The child will initially be placed under the Fostering Regulations until a Placement Order is granted by the Court. This then becomes an Adoptive Placement once the match has been presented and approved at the Adoption Panel. In respect of a relinquished child the placement can commence once the Birth Mother has given advanced consent via a written agreement.
For Relinquished babies, the child’s social worker will be responsible for writing to CAFCASS and informing them that the child has been relinquished and that they are required to witness the consent of the birth mother giving them the full information for the child and the contact details for the birth mother/father. The placement is then presented to the Adoption Panel for approval of the match and becomes an Adoptive Placement once the Birth Mother’s consent has been formalised through CAFCASS and a written.. Although the Local Authority will have approved the Plan for Adoption they will not yet have secured a Placement Order granted by the Court, which means there is still a risk the Court may not grant a Placement Order. However this plan is usually only undertaken where the child has had a number of older siblings placed for Adoption and the Birth Parent’s lives remain unchanged and they remain unable to parent a child of protect them from Significant Harm. The Birth Parents will still share Parental Responsibility for the child and therefore will be fully involved in all meetings, contact and proceedings at this time.
During the course of the process there are a number of planning meetings required to ensure that there is a smooth transition for the child and that both the Birth Parents and the Adoptive parents fully understand the terms of the placement until such time that the Court grants a Placement Order.
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 Cared For child with approved foster carers who, as well as providing temporary care for the child, 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.
Under section 22C (9A and 9B) of the Children Act 1989 [as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014], where the local authority is considering adoption for a child (see Section 4.2, 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 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 foster carer who has been approved as a prospective adopter.
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.
In such a situation, the requirements under the section 22 of the Children Act 1989 to ensure that placements allow the child to live near the parents' home, be placed within the local authority area, remain at the same school and to be placed together with sibling(s), do not apply.
The carers may be dually approved by being fully approved adopters and foster carers for any child, or they might be approved prospective adopters who have been temporarily approved as foster carers for a named child under regulation 25A of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, see Section 5, Temporary Approval as Foster Carers of Approved Prospective Adopters.
Such a placement must be approved by the Agency Decision Maker who must
- Be satisfied that:
- The placement is the most appropriate placement available for the child and will safeguard and promote their 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.
Examples of when a local authority may be considering adoption include:
- Where the local authority is trying to rehabilitate the child with the birth parents, there are no suitable family or friends carers and adoption is the best option for the child if rehabilitation does not succeed;
- Where the local authority has decided at the permanence planning stage that adoption should be the plan for the child. The local authority must be able to demonstrate to the ADM and the court why the child cannot return home, why the child has not been placed with family or friends, why no other permanence plan is appropriate for the child and why adoption is the right plan for the child;
- In cases where the birth parents have indicated that they are likely to consent to the child being placed for adoption, but have not yet consented;
- A Fostering for Adoption placement can also be made after the ADM has made the decision that the child should be placed for adoption, but does not yet have authority to place the child for adoption.
Examples of where a local authority will not be considering adoption include:
- The child is likely to return home;
- They are aware that there are family or friends who can care for the child;
- A permanence placement other than adoption is more appropriate for the child.
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 local authority to consider their position in light of the change in circumstances.
Where a decision is made to place a child in a Fostering for Adoption placement, the adoption agency must:
- Notify the prospective adopter in writing;
- Explain the decision to the child in an appropriate manner, having regard to the child's age and understanding;
- Explain to the birth parents (which includes fathers without Parental Responsibility) / guardian the legal implications.
On those occasions 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 local authority's care and should provide advice on access to legal advice and appropriate advisory bodies. At this point, the Local Authority may wish to consider commencing care proceedings.
The parents should be informed that the local authority 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.
- Under Regulation 22A the ADM is required to approve any decision that a Child in Care be placed in a Fostering for Adoption placement before the placement is affected;
Note: There is no requirement that the Fostering Panel consider the proposed approval in advance of the ADM reaching their decision; - If the plan for the child later becomes one for adoption and the Adoption Panel subsequently makes a recommendation that the child be 'matched' with their previous Fostering for Adoption carer(s), the ADM will then also have responsibility for agreeing the proposed 'match' in the usual way.
Progressing the Fostering for Adoption Plan
- Liaison must take place with the Adoption Team Manager to enable a Family Finder to be identified for the child at an early stage;
- An early Adoption Medical should be arranged for the child. The Agency will need to obtain the written consent of the child's birth parents (or one of them) for the child to be examined if they retain sole parental responsibility for the child. If the medical cannot be arranged before the child is to be placed in their Fostering for Adoption placement as much medical/health information as is available must be shared with the proposed carer(s) and they must be made fully aware of the additional risks that they are taking on in this situation: i.e. that the child may have health, medical or developmental issues not yet apparent/identified but that which may be identified through a future medical. (This information will also need to be shared with the ADM in the absence of a completed Adoption Medical see below);
- Work should be started on compiling a Child Permanence Report (CPR) using the CoramBAAF format. The CPR must make it clear that the plan for the child is at this stage Fostering for Adoption. The decision may be made to place the child in a Fostering for Adoption placement prior to the full CPR being completed; where this is the case careful consideration must be given to how as much information as possible about the child's family background, (including their birth parent(s)' histories) and the child's life experiences to date, can be shared with the potential carer(s), to enable them to make as informed a decision as possible about whether they wish to commit to the placement. (This information will also need to be shared with the ADM in the absence of a completed CPR see below). If adoption later becomes the confirmed Care Plan for the child the completed CPR will be required in order for the ADM to agree the child as being suitable for adoption and for the Adoption Panel to subsequently consider the proposed 'match' in the usual way;
- While placements with Fostering for Adoption carers are made under the Fostering Regulations, where the local authority is pursuing Fostering for Adoption it is good practice for birth parent(s) to also be provided with written information about adoption at this stage so that they are clear about the local authority's longer-term intentions, however it is not necessary for the birth parent(s) to be asked to sign receipt of this information as the local authority is not at this stage pursuing an adoptive placement;
- If the birth parent(s) are likely to benefit from it, they can at this stage be offered the opportunity of being referred to PAC UK for independent counselling about adoption, however in many cases this will be premature;
- It is expected that most children for whom Fostering for Adoption is deemed to be appropriate will be under two years of age, however if the process is to be instigated for an older child, if he/she is of sufficient age and understanding for it to be appropriate their views and wishes on the Care Plan must be sought, taken into account and recorded;
- The Agency Decision Maker will make the Agency Decision as to whether the child should be placed in a Fostering for Adoption arrangement; in order to do so she/he will need to be provided with:
- The draft CPR giving details of the case (or if the CPR is not available an alternative report giving as much information as is available about the child's family background, including their birth parent(s)' histories, the child's life experiences to date and the reasons why Fostering for Adoption is being recommended/pursued for the child);
- Medical information in respect of the child. If an Adoption Medical has not yet been arranged or the Adoption Medical Adviser's report is not yet available this should as a minimum include a recent Child in Care medical report completed by the Cared For Children's Nurse or the child's current G.P;
- Legal advice (from the Joint Legal Team) if the child has already been considered as a child suitable for adoption.
If the ADM's decision is that the child should not be placed with Fostering for Adoption carers, the child will be placed in, or remain placed, in a mainstream fostering placement and the authority's usual permanency planning procedures followed including a parallel planning process.
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 Cared For child, where the local authority 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.
The temporary approval period expires when:
- The placement is terminated by the local authority;
- 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.
Last Updated: January 3, 2024
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