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Fostering forAdoptionPRACTICE GUIDANCE

Foreword 3

A child development perspective – attachmentand the relational world of the early years 4

Concurrent planning 5

The current law and statutory guidance 6

Identifying the children to whom Fostering for Adoption might apply 7

The position of the birth parents 8

Informing, consulting and agreeing local protocols 10

Adoption panels 11

Adoption agency decision makers 12

Fostering for Adoption carers 12

The place of uncertainty and loss 16

The child 18

Explaining the placement to the child 19

Life story work 20

Sharing information 20

Contact 20

Other children in the family 21

Summary 22

Bibliography 23

Contents

Author

John Simmonds, Director of Policy,Research and Development, BritishAssociation for Adoption and Fostering

Initiatives to support early permanence arealready showing positive results in limitingdelay and securing better outcomes forchildren, where adoption is the plan.

Fostering for Adoption is perhaps the newestinitiative and a likely feature of the adoptionsystem, subject to the Children and FamiliesBill (2013) now journeying throughParliament.

This guidance, commissioned through theCoram Centre for Early Permanence andwritten by the British Association for Adoptionand Fostering, is for those who are entrustedwith promoting early permanence for children.It explains where Fostering for Adoption fitsinto the changing landscape of delivery, thepractice implications, and how it shares thesame principles of early permanence asconcurrent planning.

Fostering for Adoption will require informedand sensitive practice and sound localprotocols. It comes with challenges that areclearly set out in the guidance.

This guidance is a comprehensive first steptowards understanding the role that Fosteringfor Adoption may play in the future. It will bereviewed as policy and practice advances, butin the meantime we hope this will be a usefulvoluntary aid to this emerging area of adoptionpolicy and practice.

Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent

Programme Lead for Coram Centre for Early Permanence

June 2013

Foreword

Fostering for Adoption: Practice Guidance ı 3

The current legal, policy and practice frameworkfor adoption balances the rights and needs of thechild's parents with those of the child. Both theprinciple and detail of this are set out in theEuropean Convention on Human Rights and theAdoption and Children Act 2002.

Where the local authority's care and permanencyplanning process has decided that adoption is thebest plan for the child and where this is opposedby the parents, the local authority is limited in whatit can do to identify or make a placement otherthan preliminary family finding until it has theauthorisation of the court through the making of aPlacement Order. This usually means that the childwill be placed in temporary foster care until thePlacement Order is made, a match is identifiedand agreed by the matching panel and thenecessary information, advice, counselling, intro -ductions and support arrangements are completed.

However, there are circumstances where it isappropriate and lawful to place a child with carerswho are dually approved as adopters and fostercarers during the period of temporary care anduntil the court makes its decision about theappropriate order to secure the child’s long-termfuture – if indeed an order is needed.

This guidance is written to set out an alternativeroute which the Department for Education hascalled ‘Fostering for Adoption’ (Department forEducation, 2012). It draws on what is both possiblewithin the legislative framework and the limitedexperiences of a number of local authorities ofFostering for Adoption type placements.

A child development perspective –attachment and the relational worldof the early yearsFrom the child's perspective, the often-lengthyprocess associated with permanent placement

planning and the adoption plan has significantdisadvantages. It is well known that the earlymonths and years of a child’s life lay thefoundation for their development. Thatfoundation is built on the child’s need for a stableand loving relational world where they interactwith their parents to co-construct a pattern ofinteractions that ensure that the infant’s widerange of needs are met. This is an acutelysensitive and intense process and over thecourse of the first six to eight months of theinfant’s life, this relational world becomes highlyselective and specific to those adults who haveprovided care to the child. This has become thefoundation for understanding the way thatattachment relationships become established.

This is most observable and identifiable when thechild is separated from their caregivers even for aperiod of minutes, and particularly so when thechild is in an unfamiliar place or in the companyof unfamiliar people. The reunion of the child withthe parent after such brief separationsdemonstrates how relational patterns havebecome established that comfort and soothe thechild's distress and reassure them that the worldis again a safe place. These patterns are known tobe fundamental to many aspects of a child’sdevelopment as they lay a foundation for thechild’s experience of themselves and theirexpectations of the world around them. (Brownand Ward, 2012).

For young children placed in foster care thisrelational world is equally important and that willcentre on the foster carers as the day-to-daycentre of that relational world for the child. The child may have developed an attachmentrelationship with their birth parents but this will be put under some stress by the child’splacement in care.

Fostering for Adoption

4 ı Fostering for Adoption: Practice Guidance

It should be the case that the relationship with the foster carers is protected and supported in thesame way that it is for most children with theirbirth parents, although there are variouschallenges in doing so – particularly given the roleand place of the child’s birth parents or otherfamily members and their parental responsibilityfor the child. Addressing the inevitable conflictsand difficult feelings resulting from this is seriouslychallenging and requires sensitive and expertsupport from the social worker.

In whatever way these relationship andattachment issues work themselves out during theperiod of foster care, what is certain is that, whereadoption becomes the approved care plan and isendorsed by the court, the relationship with thefoster carers and the birth parent will be disruptedwhen the child is finally placed with adoptiveparents. For many children that will be thedisruption of their relational world formed overmonths or maybe years.

The consequences of this disruption are variableand where those involved are well prepared andsupported over time, these consequences can bemitigated and new attachment relationshipsformed, although the challenge should not beunderestimated. However, given all that is knownabout child development, disrupting attachmentrelationships is not something that should happenand it is only the force of very difficultcircumstances resulting from care planning andthe court process that makes this acceptable at all.

The current system of balancing the rights andneeds of the child and those of the birth parents isfundamental to a humane, fair and just society butat the heart of that system is a vulnerable childwho will carry the longer term consequences ofthis complex balancing act.

Concurrent planningOne available solution to these challenges hasbeen the model of concurrent planning. There isrenewed interest in this model following successfulpiloting in the late 1990s. Practice guidance onconcurrent planning is available from Borthwick


“It is well knownthat the earlymonths and yearslay the foundationfor a child'sdevelopment.”

and Donnelly (2013). Concurrent planningrequires the identification and delivery of adetailed rehabilitation plan while the child isplaced with carers who are approved for bothfostering and adoption who support that plan. Ifthe rehabilitation plan proves to be unsuccessful,the foster carers can go on to adopt the child oncecare proceedings and the placement orderapplication are completed. In these circumstancesif adoption becomes the plan as it often does,then the child's attachment relationship will not bedisrupted. If the child returns to the birth parentsor another plan is agreed, then it will indeed bedisrupted and that will need to be addressed incareful planning for all those involved.

It is anticipated that as a result of renewed interestin concurrent planning more children will benefit,although the numbers are still likely to be small.But that still leaves a question as to whether morecould be done, building on the experiences ofconcurrent planning, that would result in morechildren being placed with carers who couldbecome their permanent carers within the currentlegislative, policy and practice frameworks forpermanency planning.

The current law and statutory guidanceUnder current law and regulations, it is for thelocal authority to determine which foster carers the

child is placed with until care proceedings and the placement order application is decided.

‘Where a placement with the child’s parent is

not possible, the responsible authority should

place the child in ‘the most appropriate

placement available’, that is, the one that

they consider will best promote and safeguard

the child’s welfare.’ Children Act 1989

Where the local authority has identified thepermanence plan as adoption, in making aplacement before the court decides on thePlacement Order application, they must not takeany action that might suggest that they havepredicted the likely outcome of that decision. It isthe strict interpretation of that requirement thatresults in most placement planning taking thesequential pathway of foster care placement(s),the agency decision maker taking the decisionthat the child should be placed for adoption, thePlacement Order application, the making of thePlacement Order and then linking, matching,introductions and finally placement. Butcompliance with that principle does mean thatthere are children where the likelihood of themreturning home or being placed with family orfriends is so small that the advantages of placingwith approved foster carers who could then bematched with the child as adopters following the


“Where a placement with thechild’s parent is not possible, theresponsible authority should placethe child in ‘the most appropriateplacement available’ .”

making of the Placement Order ‘will best promoteand safeguard the child’s welfare’. Exploring theviability of and identifying and making such aplacement becomes a child centred imperative.These are the principles that are set out insection 1.5 of the Children Act 1989 Guidanceand Regulations (2010) and for the U.K. as asignatory to UN Convention and the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights as set out in 1.7.

‘Achieving permanence for a child will be

a key consideration from the day the child

becomes looked after.’ Children Act 1989

Identifying the children to whomFostering for Adoption might applyThere are a range of circumstances which maysuggest that in planning for the child, placing withcarers who are approved for both adoption andfostering might be the best child-centred plan.However, in the first instance, it is essential that the local authority has fully explored itsresponsibilities to engage the birth parents and the wider family in identifying solutions, andplacement options have been properly dischargedand fully evidenced. These are set out in the pre-proceedings requirements of the Public LawOutline and Section 22C of the Children Act 1989.Where these have been explored and no optionshave been realistically identified then Fostering for

Adoption (FfA) may apply and typically in one ofthe following circumstances:

Where parents have had one or morechildren previously placed for adoption orother forms of permanent placement and the evidence strongly suggests that theircircumstances have not changed and posethe same risks as they did to the previouschild/ren. The local authority does not have a proactive plan to rehabilitate the child asthe circumstances of the parents are such to pose a serious on-going risk.Where this is the first child, the circumstancesof the parents and the risks to the child aresuch that there is no proactive plan to returnthe child to the birth parents or to other familymembers. Where parents have indicated that they maywant their child adopted, but have notformally consented. (S52(3) Adoption andChildren Act 2002)There are other circumstances whereplacement with a dually approved carer may be in the best interests of the child.Concurrent planning is the clearest example.

The point at which planning for FfA isappropriate will vary from case to case – forsome very early on, for others later in planning or

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proceedings. Whatever this is, it is theadvantages to the child of exploring FfA thatmust become the driver, not the assumption thatbecause the child is suitably placed withtemporary foster carers, all is well. The fosterplacement may be going very well but if adoptionbecomes the authorised plan when the courtmakes a Placement Order, then that placementwill end and the relationship the child has withthe foster carers ends. It must also not beassumed that because there may be identifiedadvantages in placing the child through FfA thatit is the right plan. Every case must be discussedon its own evidence-based merits and it is thechild's needs that are the primary objective andparticularly the stability and security of the primary relational context of those needs.

The position of the birth parentsFfA can be considered at various points in theevolution of care planning for the child. There are two likely scenarios:

Where the child is accommodated under

Section 20, Children Act 1989 and prior to

proceedings. It is vital in such cases that theparents have access to support and legaladvice and they are fully consulted and theirviews incorporated into the local authority’splan. It is important that the local authority isclear about the appropriateness of the childcontinuing to be accommodated when theirplan is adoption. A recent High Courtjudgment, Re CA (a baby), sets out a seriesof points that must be addressed to ensurethat a parent, where the local authority’splan is to accommodate the child undersection 20, fully understand their ownposition and the actions being planned bythe local authority.

Where care proceedings have begun and the

child is subject to an Interim Care Order.

Where an FfA placement is being consideredand may be viable, it is essential that the birthparents are consulted about their views onsuch a placement and wherever possible their

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“It is vital that theparents have access to support and legaladvice and they arefully consulted and their viewsincorporated into thelocal authority’s plan.”

cooperation established. The Care Planning,Placement and Case Review statutoryguidance (2010, para 2.31) notes that:‘As part of the assessment process, it is

essential when planning a placement to

consult all those concerned with the child.

The need for consultation should be

explained to the parents and the child. The

responsible authority should coordinate the

involvement of all relevant agencies and all

the individuals who are significant in the

child’s life. Before making any decision with

respect to a child whom they are looking after

or propose to look after, section 22(4)

provides that the responsible authority

should, as far as is reasonably practicable

ascertain the wishes and feeling of:

the child;

his parents;

any person who is not a parent of his but

had parental responsibility for him; and

any other person whose wishes and feelings

the authority consider to be relevant;

regarding the matters to be decided.’

The statutory duty to ascertain wishes and feelingswill need to reflect the specific circumstances andstage of the care planning process. While the localauthority will have identified that the likelihood ofthe child returning to the birth parents is verysmall and placement with FfA carers is in thechild's best interests, the parents must beinformed that the local authority cannot pre-judgethe outcome of care proceedings and only thecourt can authorise placement for adoption if theparents do not consent to their child being placedfor adoption. In seeking the parents’ cooperationin the FfA plan, the local authority should make itclear that they are focussed specifically on theneeds of the child and the benefits for the child ofmaking such a placement. Further, it must beexplained that while the local authority believesthat adoption is the right plan, or likely to becomethe plan if rehabilitation is not successful, theycannot and will not interfere in the parent’s right tohave their evidence presented and heard beforethe court if that is what they decide they want to

do. If the court decides that the parent’s case isstrong and dismisses the local authority's case,then the child will either be placed with theparents or an alternative suitable permanent carer.Explaining any of this to the parents is challengingand requires considerable skill and understandingas it can easily be interpreted as duplicitous ormisleading.

The statutory guidance (para 2.39) notes:‘While there is no requirement for a formal

agreement by the parent to the Court Care

Plan, the responsible authority will be aware

of the principles underpinning article 8 of the

ECHR concerning the ‘right to respect for

family life’ and should ensure that parents

are appropriately consulted and that the

reasons why their views have or have not

been acted upon are recorded.’

Many parents will need, and should always beadvised, to discuss their position, views andcircumstances with their legal representatives.Some parents will understand that such planningis clearly on the side of their child and will want tomaximise their child's opportunity for healthydevelopment in the context of a foster careplacement even though it is a very painfulexperience when they would want to be able to dothis themselves. For many, knowing the child willnot be moved if a Placement Order is made orthat they are being placed with a sibling will beseen to be the right thing to do. A confident,resourced, experienced and well supported socialwork practitioner is at the heart of being able toestablish a cooperative working relationship thatacknowledges the fears and anxieties inherent insuch a plan, but remains focussed on the childand the child's development.

While parental consent or court order is notnecessary in order to place a child with specificfoster carers, if the court considers that the localauthority’s plan is an interference in the parent’srights under Article 6 or 8 in relation to the Careand Placement Order application, then analternative placement plan will be necessary.


Informing, consulting and agreeinglocal protocolsIt will be essential in establishing FfA locally, thatpreparation and briefing is undertaken with allthose involved about the rationale, objectives andprocesses of FfA placements. This includeschildren’s social work and adoption and fosteringteams, the Independent Reviewing Officer Service,CAFCASS, the court service, lawyers and healthprofessionals. FfA is a significant change fromstandard practice in most local authority areas andit is important that the child-centred objectives ofthe process are properly understood andimplemented. It is also important that the briefingand preparation of key stakeholders is clear aboutthe core place of the rights of the parents andimplementation is balanced and fair in addressingtheir perspectives and concerns. It is particularlyimportant in briefing relevant stakeholders toemphasise that where an FfA placement is made,it must not be regarded as a fait accompli insetting a direction of travel towards adoption whenany Placement Order application is still to bemade or considered by the court. Only the court

can decide on the merits of the Placement Orderapplication in considering the evidence placedbefore it. Foster care placements when made inusual circumstances are assumed to balance theneeds of the child for a strong sense ofcommitment from the foster carers whilerecognising that this commitment and corerelationship in most circumstances will be brought to an end. While placing a child in an FfA placement is intended to avoid this seriousdisruption, until the court authorises the adoptionplacement, the placement with the duallyapproved carers is a temporary placement made under fostering regulations.

The successful implementation of FfA placementswill require that attention is given to the localprocedures for identifying children to whom theplacement might apply. Permanency planningprocedures, including tracking and monitoringarrangements, decision making and authorisationfor such placements and availability ofappropriate resources to make and sustainplacements, will be essential.


Adoption panelsRecent changes in the function of adoption panelshas removed the consideration of the adoptionrecommendation for a child from the panel andsited that with the adoption agency decisionmaker. The introduction of regulation 25A from 1stJuly 2013 in the Care Planning, Placement andCase Review Regulations 2010 (CPPCR 2010)enables approved adopters to be temporarilyapproved as foster carers for a named child by thelocal authority responsible for the child, withoutthat being referred to the Fostering Panel.Adoption panels still have an important function to play. They may become involved at a number of points in FfA placements and they need to beprepared and briefed for their role.

Making a recommendation on the

suitability to adopt:

An adoption panel can only make arecommendation of the suitability of anadoption applicant to adopt. The panel cannotapprove the applicants as foster carers underthe Fostering Regulations unless they areestablished as an adoption and permanencypanel that is authorised to act under both setsof regulations. This would usually happenunder a concurrent planning scheme.

It may be that during the course of the homestudy assessment, applicants have expressedan interest in a Fostering for Adoptionplacement but that this would only apply to a named child if that became their identifiedplan. This information should be included inthe Prospective Adopters Report (PAR) andappropriately noted by the Panel.

Where an adoption match is being considered

following the making of a Placement Order by

the court and the child has been placed with

dually approved carers under FfA:

It will be essential that the panel is in a positionto positively consider an adoption match whenthe child and carers have already developed asignificant relationship. While the panel willhave the advantage of direct evidence of thequality of that placement from prepared reports,its role is still to make a recommendation abouta placement that is fundamentally changing itslegal and psycho-social status from foster careto adoption. In that sense the role of the panelis not to ‘rubber stamp’ that which has alreadyhappened but to openly and supportivelyexplore what has happened and what mightneed to happen.

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“The successful implementation ofFostering for Adoption placements willrequire that attention is given to thelocal procedures for identifying childrento whom the placement might apply.”

Adoption agency decision makers Fostering for Adoption will involve the AdoptionAgency Decision Maker in a number of ways.

Where in care planning for a child, a

potential FfA placement is identified and

proposed.

The authorisation for this decision will need tobe made by or in consultation with the agencydecision maker. The agency decision makermay be required at some point to approve theplan that the child should be adopted whichwill set in motion the local authority’sapplication for a Placement Order and theirearly involvement in this will have considerableadvantages.

Where an FfA plan and placement is proposed

and they are required to consider approving the

adopters as temporary foster carers for a

named child under regulation 25A (CPPCR,

2010) where that child is the responsibility

of that local authority.

Where an Adoption Panel has made a

recommendation for a match for a child with

adopters where the child is already placed

with carers approved under regulation 25A.

The agency decision maker will be making

their decision about the suitability of the

match under Regulation 33 of the Adoption

Agency Regulations 2005.

Each of these scenarios reinforces the need for the role of the adoption agency decisionmaker to be appropriately integrated within care planning processes from an early stage onwards. This will require coordination with theIndependent Reviewing Officer, Adoption Panelsand other service managers to ensure effectivecoordination, information exchange anddecision-making.

Fostering for Adoption carersAs already noted, from 1st July 2013 anamendment (Regulation 25A) to the CarePlanning, Placement and Case Review (England)

Regulations 2010 enables approved prospectiveadopters by both local authorities and voluntaryadoption agencies to be temporarily approved asfoster carers for a named child by the localauthority with responsibility for that child withouthaving to be approved as foster carers under theFostering Services (England) Regulations 2011.Such approvals will not require consideration bythe Fostering Panel. These new regulations will notapply if the adopters had already been fullyapproved as foster carers under the FosteringRegulations. The introduction of this amendmentadds one further route by which foster carers mightgo on to adopt a child placed with them. They are:

Foster carers who are approved under theFostering Services (England) Regulations 2011and decide in the course of the foster careplacement that they wish to go on to adopt achild already placed with them. They can dothis by discussing this with the local authorityresponsible for the child and the local authoritythen agreeing to assess their suitability toadopt. The authority must ensure that itcomplies with regulation 21 of the AdoptionAgency Regulations and paragraphs 53–55 ofthe Adoption Statutory Guidance. Foster carers who have continuously caredfor the child for one year prior to theapplication to adopt (S42(4), Adoption andChildren Act, 2002).Carers who are dually and fully approved asadopters under the Adoption AgencyRegulations 2005 and as foster carers underthe Fostering Services (England) Regulations2011 where the primary motivation is toadopt rather than foster. These carers wouldusually be part of a concurrent planningproject. Detailed guidance on concurrentplanning is available from Borthwick andDonnelly (2013).Carers who are approved as adopters andwhere a child is identified whose needs andcircumstances are such that adoption is likelyto become the plan for the child but is not yetagreed by either the agency decision maker orby the court. If the child is be placed with

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these carers they will need to be approved asfoster carers as that is the legal framework forsuch placements. These carers may be eitherfully and dually approved as foster carers andadopters or they may be fully approved asadopters and approved as foster carers underthe new Care Planning Regulation 25A.

The viability of local FfA schemes depends on theavailability of carers who have been, or can be,dually approved. It means that local authoritiesmust establish from their own permanentplacement profiles what the likely demand is forsuch placements. The recruitment, preparationand approval of FfA carers can be systematic androutinely built into practice if anticipated demandwarrants such an approach or it may be ad hoc as cases present themselves. It should be notedhowever that Regulation 25A only applies wherethe proposed placement is of a named child. If itis anticipated that a pool of already approved FfAcarers are required, then they will have to beapproved foster carers under the FosteringServices (England) Regulations 2011 as they arein concurrent planning schemes.

Agencies should consider and plan in theirrecruitment depending on their local anticipateddemand. This should include the following:

Basic information about FfA should be available in the general information made available toprospective adopters and then in more detail ifthey engage more fully in the preparation andassessment process

1. This information should

outline:

What the objectives of FfA areIn what circumstances it might applyWhat the process is for becoming a duallyapproved carer What the benefits and risks might be

During the adopter assessment process,prospective adopters might be asked about theirinterests in becoming dually approved. Theyshould be given the information leaflet associated

1 Fostering for Adoption: Becoming a Carer. June 2013.Available from the Coram Centre for Early Permanenceor BAAF


“The viability oflocal Fostering forAdoption schemesdepends on theavailability of carerswho have been, orcan be, duallyapproved.”

with this guidance. There is no requirement on the agency to assess the adopter as a foster carerat that point (unless they are applying for dualapproval through a concurrent planning project).Where appropriate, the agency should indicateany interest in the Prospective Adopters Report onpage 1 of the BAAF PAR template. This will allowthe agency to follow up that interest should it oranother agency need an FfA placement or theadopters details be placed on the AdoptionRegister for England. There is no requirement for the Panel to consider this information whenrecommending the suitability of the adopter forapproval.

The agency will need to have agreed its protocolsfor managing FfA carers in its locally agreedstrategy including arrangements with otheragencies.

Preperation and assessmentFfA carers will need to be adequately prepared andsuitably assessed. The timing of preparation iscrucial. Carers should have access to appropriatesupplementary/ specific preparation sessions aswell as the usual preparation and training packageavailable to all adopters. Meeting other adopterswho have experience of these types of placementsis an important part of this preparation. In thehome study, there is an appropriate exploration of the capacity of the foster carers/prospectiveadopters to manage the emotional and practical

tasks of being foster carers until and if placementfor adoption is agreed by the court.

The timing of preparation may be different forcarers where the plan is the placement of anamed child under Regulation 25A. Thetimescales for these placements may becondensed. There can be challenges in preparingcarers where time and resources may be limitedgiven the urgency of placing the child. However,there may be some advantage in being preparedand assessed in relation to a known child.

It is important to ensure that carers are fullyinformed about the nature of the placement, theirrole in that placement as foster carers and theirunderstanding of the possibility of the courtdeciding to pursue an alternative plan to adoption.These issues must be addressed in the report tothe agency decision maker on the suitability of thecarers as foster carers for the named child.Prospective carers should not be or feel rushedinto accepting an FfA placement.

Whatever approach is taken locally, there are anumber of topics that must be covered in theassessment and preparation and then evidencedin the assessment report that complies withRegulation 25A of the Care Planning, Placementand Case Review Regulations. This shouldinclude evidence of the carers understanding ofthe following:


“Information and advice should be madeavailable on a routine basis and interestgathered during the home study about thepotential for prospective adopters tobecome dually approved.”

The fostering roleThe availability of information on the child andthe child’s family including the child’s siblings.The nature and meaning of parentalresponsibility, what it means in relation to alooked after child and what it means on a day-to-day basis. The role of the local authority in assessing,planning and decision-making for the child andthe child’s family. The nature of care proceedings and theplacement order application, timing andprocess.The position and role of the birth parents andtheir rights and responsibilities. The arrangements for contact between the childand the birth parents and any other significantpeople in the child’s life.The role of the child's and the fosteringsupervising social worker.The significance of the care plan, theplacement plan and reviews. The role of the Independent Reviewing Officer. The requirement to keeping appropriaterecords.The availability of support including parentingsupport, health and education.The importance and nature of ‘safe caring’.Health checks and the health plan. Personal education plan. The importance and nature of the child’s lifestory work. The arrangements for the payment of fosteringallowances.

Foster care competences and associatedsupport and developmental opportunities.

AdoptionWhen the agency expects to make a decisionon adoption, if it has not already done so. The procedure following the making of aPlacement Order. The matching report, matching panel andmatching certificate. The continuation of life story work. Parental responsibility and the adoptionplacement plan following the matching panel. Assessment for adoption support, including thecessation of the fostering allowance and theapplication for adoption pay and leave.Contact and 'goodbyes' with the birth parents.Applying for an Adoption Order.

For both parts of the placement, the responsibilityfor the provision of appropriate support must be


identified and that must include regular visits by the child’s social worker and the fosteringsupervising social worker and access to healthand other parenting support services. If anadoption social worker is going to fulfil the role ofsupervising social worker they too will need to befamiliar with their roles and responsibilities underthe fostering regulations.

The availability of practical and financial supportmust be identified including available fosteringallowances and adoption leave following theissuing of the matching certificate.

MatchingMatching the child with the carers will need toaddress those issues relevant to both the fosteringplacement as well as the possibility that if aPlacement Order is made, the issues relevant toan adoption placement can be addressed albeitin the context of a 'known' child.

Matching is a core part of placement planningand in the context of FfA placements, a processwith likely direct life-long implications. In all fostercare placements, ensuring that the parentingcapacities of the foster carers and other relevantmatters that impact on the child’s welfare andneeds are understood is a significant professionaltask. This includes the identification of relevantinformation that combines that which is relevantto the child and that which is relevant to thecarers. This will need detailed discussion with thefoster carers and a recognition that there may bemuch that is unknown. There are additionalissues in approving the match in FfA placements,including identifying those factors that are likely tosecure a matched adoption placement. This is achallenging task as more information may bediscovered about the child and theircircumstances as the placement evolves.

In the course of the fostering placement a Child Permanence Report will need to be madeavailable to the agency decision maker and in an appropriate form to the court in theapplication for the Placement Order. This will

also need to be updated in preparing the reportsfor the adoption matching panel if thePlacement Order is granted by the court. There will be a number of core issues:

The parenting capacity of the carers.The resources and support available to them. Their capacity to manage uncertainty, loss andchange.Their ability to understand and work with thelocal authority and other agencies.Their ability throughout to remain childfocussed.Their capacity to manage these issues in thepresent and short-term but also, if theplacement moves to becoming adoption, thelonger term.

There will be a number of practical issues that willneed to be addressed. The geographical locationof the placement will be a significant issue. Duringthe fostering phase there may be location issuesthat need to be considered that enable anyarrangements for contact to be practically possiblewithout subjecting the child to unnecessary stressresulting from long journeys. There may be otherlocation issues if the foster care placementbecomes an adoptive placement where theanonymity of the placement is a priority and theidentity and location of the carers need to beprotected, particularly where there are siblingsalready placed. The resolution of these potentiallycompeting demands will require careful thoughtand planning.

The place of uncertainty and lossA realistic and substantial personal motivation toadopt and the wish to create a family throughadoption are key to its success. Uncertainty playsa significant part in this from the uncertainty aboutbeing accepted for assessment by an agency,being approved as suitable to adopt, beingmatched with a child and then what happens inco-constructing a family life that meets both thechild’s expectations and those of the adopters.The overarching framework in most adoptions isthat at the point of placement, while uncertainty


plays a part and probably a significant part, the expectation is that the placement will last.Experience from concurrent planning hasidentified that this expectation is compromised bythe active pursuit of the rehabilitation plan and thepossibility that this will lead to the child eventuallyleaving the concurrent carers. Where there is notan active rehabilitation plan, uncertainty is stillpresent and will be reinforced by the workundertaken by the local authority and othersduring the fostering phase until the court resolvesthe Care and Placement Order application.

The presence of uncertainty will need to berecognised and openly discussed. One of the mostimportant issues is the impact that the uncertaintymay have on the relationship between the carersand the child. ‘Holding back’ from allowing thenatural flow of emotion between parent and childis understandable if in the back of one’s mindthere is a fear that in the end the relationship willbe disrupted and profound loss experienced.Carers will need support to address this verydifficult set of emotions whether that supportcomes from professionals or within their intimatepersonal relationships or from other familymembers or friends. The potential pain arisingfrom this uncertainty should not deter the makingof such placements; it is common whatever theplacement type and are of course common inmany foster care placements unless thoseplacements are intended to last. But placementsshould be made having addressed these issues,by putting the potential risks into words andreinforcing the need to explore any feelings thatmay arise, however unbearable these feelings maybe. Whatever difficult issues may arise for theadults as a result of uncertainty about the eventualoutcome, it is very important to remember that therationale for FfA placements is the fact that it isthe child who is least likely to be able to bear theconsequences of firstly being placed with one ormore temporary foster care placements only tohave the relationship they have made with thefoster carer terminated when an adoptionplacement is identified.


“It is absolutely centralto the whole frameworkof Fostering for Adoptionthat the child's needsand welfare areparamount.”

If an FfA placement is terminated because thelocal authority or the court make a decision thatthe child should return to the birth parents or analternative placement is in the child’s bestinterests, it will be essential that this is properlyplanned and that the carers and the childreceive support on an on-going basis to helpthem recover from the loss and grief that theywill inevitably experience.

The childIt is absolutely central to the whole framework of FfA that the child's needs and welfare areparamount. Identifying the children and theircircumstances where the child might benefit fromFfA has already been discussed. Each case mustbe decided individually on its merits and risks.

Where a child is identified, then it is essentialthat all the information available on the child'sneeds and circumstances is made available tothe carers including all health and developmentalassessments. Where these have not beencompleted, then they should have been plannedfor or commissioned. It is likely that manychildren identified as suitable for FfA will eitherbe new-born infants or under six months of age.This will inevitably mean that the informationavailable on their developmental status may belimited especially in trying to predict laterdevelopmental progress. The agency medicaladvisor will play a crucial role in identifying what

is known, what might be expected and what isnot known. They will be able to access expertisefrom other health and developmental specialistsincluding treatment options where these mightbe required. This may mean for manyprospective FfA carers that the placement will be made in the context of developmentaluncertainty, and the carers capacity to managethis appropriately will be an essential part of theplacement planning process and the provision of appropriate support. There are likely to be anumber of placements made where the carerswill need to care for infants who experience neo-natal abstinence syndrome, where this is subjectto active treatments and special care.

Other information about the child's familymembership, circumstances and history may be more readily available, especially where thefamily is known to children's services. Oneessential factor in this must be identifying andestablishing the child's paternity to minimise the risk of extended family members comingforward after the FfA placement has beenmade. A decision will need to be made whetheror not it is in the child’s best interest to delayany placement until paternity is established – if that is possible.

While infants may be the most likely groupwhere FfA is suitable, there may be olderchildren where this is in their best interests.


The challenge for older children who arealready in a foster care placement will beassessing the advantages of maintaining thecontinuity of their current placement until the Placement Order application is decided.Bringing that placement to an end and placingthem in what has the status of anothertemporary placement may not be in their best interests. However, where a placement is coming to a planned end because of thecircumstances of the foster carers then an FfA placement may be the right plan.

Explaining the placement to the childEven though many FfA placements will apply tobabies or very young children, it is important toconsider from day one how the child will be toldabout the plan for and the status of theplacement in a way that is consistent with theirage or understanding. This must include anexplanation that for the time being nobody knowsif the placement will be a ‘forever family’ but thatthey will be staying until the court makes thedecision about what will happen to them. Thiswill draw on the kind of explanation that fostercarers need to use in explaining the status of theplacement to their children. The appropriate useof play materials, children’s workbooks and otherchild centred methods will be necessary inmanaging this task. Direct work with childrenmust include working with the anxiety and upsetthat the child is likely to experience as plans anddecisions are made for their future. This work ischallenging and emotionally taxing andprofessionals and others must have access toappropriate support and consultation.

One very important part of the explanation tothe child about the placement will be the termsthe child and adults use to refer to each other.In many circumstances the use of first nameswill probably be the best solution. But where achild is being placed with siblings, this may bemore complex. The adopter/foster carers andthe children in the family will need to discusshow best to manage this and this will need totake into account the views of the birth parents.Given the expectation that most children in FfAplacements will be infants, explanations aboutthe status of the placement may not be themost immediate problem facing the carers,however the terms used to refer to each otherwill need to be agreed from day one of theplacement.

If the Placement Order is made and the adoptionmatch approved by the Adoption Panel, a planwill need to be made about how to inform thechild about the change in placement status andthat the people they ‘know’ as foster carers willbecome their adoptive ‘forever family’. Thatchange is very significant and appropriate wayswill need to be found to explore and explain that.

It is necessary as the placement becomes aplacement for adoption and an application ismade for an Adoption Order that the child’swishes and feelings about adoption are takeninto account. They will need to know both whatthis means for now and into the future. This willrequire child and age appropriate direct workthat is planned and appropriately resourced.In those placements where the plan for adoption


“It is important to consider from day one how the child will be told aboutthe plan for and the status of theplacement in a way that is consistentwith their age or understanding.”

is not authorised by the court, careful thought willneed to be given to preparing the child and thecarers if the plan is for the child to be placedelsewhere. This is likely to very stressful for allconcerned and the availability of on-going supporta primary requirement for all those involved.

Life story workThe preparation of the child’s life story and anyassociated material will be an important part of thefostering phase of the placement. In planning theplacement, it needs to be agreed who will beresponsible for preparing the material, includingundertaking direct work with the child. The FfAcarers will play an important part in this work butwill need to be guided and supported by thechild’s social worker and others.

Sharing informationThe carers must be informed of all relevantaspects of available information about the childand their family and circumstances as set out inthe Care Planning Guidance (para. 3.134). Thiswill need to be done in a way that is consistentwith data protection, confidentiality and other legalissues. With FfA placements, the informationshared must be consistent with the plan that thefoster carers could become the child's adopters.Where there are necessary restrictions on whatcan be shared, this must not interfere with thecarers’ ability to properly care for the child bothcurrently and in the future. This should not be aninsurmountable difficulty but it is essential that thecarers do not find themselves in difficulty at thepoint of the adoption placement being approvedbecause important information about the child ortheir family circumstances was not appropriatelyshared at an earlier stage.

ContactContact is likely to be an important part inplanning the placement. A number of issues willneed to be addressed:

Given the needs of the child, what are thepriority issues for them in relation to contact?

With whom is contact envisaged?What are the birth parents’ views aboutcontact and what is realistic for them tomanage given the many issues that they haveto attend to? How can they balance theirnatural instincts to want to see their child withthe needs of the child and the other prioritiesin their life?How can the arrangements for contact best be made, taking account of research whichhighlights that there can be serious issues andadverse consequences when young childrenare transported to contact in the company ofunfamiliar adults, at a contact centre theydon’t know and to meet parents who they may experience as strangers?

Planning such arrangements can be verychallenging but the one principle that must beconsistently applied is that the arrangements mustprotect the child and minimise any exposure theyhave to undue stress.

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In concurrent planning, transporting children tocontact is undertaken by the carers and the carersare available during the contact visit if difficultiesarise during contact. Whether the birth parentsmeet the carers is something to be decided on acase-by-case basis. There can be real advantageswhere they do so. It can re-assure the birthparents that the carers are caring for the child welland the carers can actively participate in that bysharing appropriate materials. It can help in anysubsequent arrangements for contact if the carersgo on to adopt the child. It can also help theadopters if they have had direct experience of thebirth parents and can relay that information to thechild in appropriate ways and at appropriatetimes. There will also be cases where anonymity isthe right plan and where this is so, this will impacton any arrangements for contact. It should notmean that the carers cannot transport the child orshare information or be available if the contactdoes not happen or the child becomes undulydistressed, but this will need to be carefullyplanned to avoid any risk of the parties meeting.

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3 Schofield and Simmonds, 2011; Kenrick, 2009, 2010;Humphreys, C., Kiraly, M. (2011)

Other children in the familyThe profile of children suitable for FfA is likely to include a significant number where theadvantages of a placement arises because aprevious sibling or siblings have been placed foradoption. Placing a subsequent sibling throughFfA has positive benefits in many ways.However, the position of full or half siblings inthe family and maybe other children, adopted orbirth children, will mean that careful preparationand thought will need to be given to their needsand particularly what they are told about thestatus of the placement.

The age and understanding of the ‘other’ childrenin the family will be very important in identifyingwhat and how they will be told of the plannedplacement. It may be that the adopters will have aview that above all, their adopted child’s needs forstability suggest that the potential disruption of afull or half sibling being placed is not in theirchild’s best interests. For some adopters, theymay be unsure and will need an opportunity tothink it through with professional support. It islikely that children already in the family should be included in this discussion and planningconsistent with their age and understanding. The outcome and issues from this work should be identified in the relevant reports to panel or theagency decision maker.

The greatest fear will be that, if the new child isplaced, the already placed child/ren will develop asignificant relationship with the new child and viceversa and that relationship could be brought to anend if the court does not make a Placement Orderand the child is removed. The loss and trauma foreverybody in such circumstances would be verydifficult and for the children, one more to add towhat they have already experienced at earlierpoints in their life.


“The age andunderstanding of the‘other’ children in thefamily will be veryimportant in identifyingwhat and how they willbe told of the plannedplacement.”

There are no easy answers to the problem ofestablishing a permanent family life for childrenwhere this cannot be with the birth parents orbirth family. It is well established and known thatdelay is endemic and is quite the opposite of whatchildren need. FfA is one solution but it needs tobe implemented with insight, care, due regard toall the issues and to be properly resourced. Threeprinciple issues must be kept in mind:

Local authorities must ensure that theidentification of a child suitable for an FfAplacement is based on evidence that has beenproperly gathered together, analysed, testedand agreed and clearly establishes the positivebenefits to the child. That evidence shouldidentify that the risk of disruption should beminimal. But until the Placement Order ismade, circumstances can change so that riskwill always be there. In making an FfA placement, the strengths ofthe carers and the support available to themmust be clearly identified so that if such adisruption were to happen, the adults and thechild would recover from the distress caused. Loss and disruption is a common experiencein family placement and this impacts onadults, but above all on children. The currentfamily placement arrangements expectchildren to move from placement toplacement despite everything that suggeststhat this should be avoided. FfA is intended tominimise these moves but from time to time itmay itself be caught up in them. Theavoidance of the potential difficulties in FfA byonly accepting sequential placement planningfor children cannot be justified.

Where FfA provides a fair, evidence based andjust solution, it is a child centred opportunity thatis not to be missed.

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Summary


“Where Fostering forAdoption provides afair, evidence basedand just solution, it is a child centredopportunity that isnot to be missed.”

Bibliography

The Children Act 1989, Guidance and Regulations, Volume 2: Care Planning, Placementand Case Review (2010)

Brown, R., Ward, H. (2012) Decision-making within a child’s timeframe: An overview ofcurrent research evidence for family justice professionals concerning child developmentand the impact of Maltreatment. Working Paper 16, Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre

Department for Education (2012), Proposals for placing children with their potentialadopters earlier

Kenrick, J. (2009) Concurrent planning A retrospective study of the continuities anddiscontinuities of care, and their impact on the development of infants and young childrenplaced for adoption by the Coram Concurrent Planning Project , Adoption & Fostering ,Volume 33, Number 4, Winter 2009 , pp. 5-18(14)

Kenrick, J. (2010). Concurrent planning (2) ‘The rollercoaster of uncertainty’. Adoptionand Fostering, Volume 34, Number 2

Humphreys,C., Kiraly, M. (2011) High-frequency family contact: a road to nowhere forinfants, Child & Family Social Work, Volume 16, Issue 1, pages 1–11

Re CA (A Baby), Re [2012] EWHC 2190 (Fam) (30 July 2012)

Schofield G. and Simmonds J. (2011) Contact for infants subject to care proceedings.Family Law, 41 (June), 617-22

United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child (Unicef 1989)

Convention of the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom (EuropeanCourt of Human Rights June 2010)

Coram, the UK’s first children’s charity, hasbeen providing better chances for childrensince 1739. The charity runs one of the UK'sleading voluntary adoption agencies andpioneered, and continues to develop,concurrent planning in the UK.

Coram shares its expertise by working closelywith local authorities to help improve adoptionservices through evidence based decisionmaking. The Coram Centre for EarlyPermanence leads through innovation and partnership, with the aim of ensuringmore children can live with their potentialpermanent carers at the earliest possiblestage of the care process.

www.coram.org.uk

The British Association for Adoption &Fostering (BAAF) is the UK’s leading charityfor children separated from their birthfamilies. We provide services to meet theneeds of some of the UK’s most vulnerablechildren and young people and wereawarded an overall grade of ‘Outstanding’ in our Ofsted inspection in 2011 (England).

For more information please visitwww.baaf.org.uk

www.design-mill.co.uk

© Coram and BAAF June 2013

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