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Contents

1. What is Adoption Support?
2. The Definition of Adoption Support
3. When to assess the need for Adoption Support
4. Which Local Authority should carry out the assessment?
5. Which Local Authority should provide the support?
6. Process of Assessment for Adoption Support
7. The Adoption Support Plan
8. Financial Support
   
   

1. What is Adoption Support?

Adoption Support includes any support likely to be required for an adoptive placement to endure through to adulthood and is applicable to both existing and new situations.

Local authorities must now make arrangements, as part of their adoption service, for the provision of a range of adoption support services.

Local authorities may arrange for the required services to be provided by appropriate voluntary organisations. 

2. The Definition of Adoption Support

Adoption Support is defined as including:

1. Financial support to adopters;
2. Services to enable groups of adoptive children, adoptive parents and birth parents to discuss matters relating to adoption;
3. Assistance, including mediation, with contact arrangements between adopted children and their birth parents or others with whom they share a significant relationship;
4. Therapeutic services for adoptive children;
5. Assistance to adoptive parents and children to support the adoptive placement and enable it to continue, including respite care;
6. Assistance to adoptive parents and children where a placement disrupts or is at risk of disruption;
7. Counselling, advice and information;
8. Assistance with cross boundary issues;
9. Intermediary Services - see Chapter on, Intermediary Services;
10. Financial Support will be subject to the approval of the Designated Manager (Adoption Support).

Support provided under 2) to 6) above may include cash assistance, for example to pay for a babysitter, although this would not be regarded as an ongoing financial support arrangement.

3. When to Assess the Need for Adoption Support

3.1	Practitioners should consider the need for adoption support at the following stages of care and permanence planning: When preparing the case for presentation to the Adoption Panel as to whether the child is suitable to be placed for adoption; When considering the suitability of prospective adoptive parents.
3.2	Practitioners must consider the need for adoption support services for the  child, the prospective adopters and any children of the prospective  adopters when considering the placement of a particular child with particular prospective adopters
3.3	Adoption support must also always be considered at a child's reviews                       following the adoptive placement. See Chapter on Adoption Reviews
3.4	Local authorities must undertake assessments of need for adoption  support at the request of the following: Children who may be adopted, their parents or guardians; Persons wishing to adopt a child; Adopted persons, their parents, birth parents and former guardians; Other children of adoptive parents (whether or not they are adopted); Birth siblings of adopted children; Relatives of the adopted child or other persons with whom the child has a beneficial relationship. The assessment of need, however, is only required to consider those adoption support services to which the person making the request would be entitled. The adoption does not need to have been arranged by the local authority or an adoption agency in order to qualify for an assessment for adoption support.  It is only where the adoption is by a step parent that there is no requirement to carry out an assessment, although in such cases, counselling, advice and information may be offered as appropriate.

                

4. Which Local Authority Should Carry Out The Assessment?

The table below sets out which local authority has responsibility for carrying out the assessment of adoption support, and in what circumstances.

Circumstance	Responsibility for Assessment
Child being Looked After and in respect of whom an adoption plan is being considered	Coventry
Child, placed with or adopted by family living in the city	Coventry
Child, adopted by family living outside the city	Coventry has responsibility for up to 3 years after the Adoption Order is made and then the local authority where the adopters reside will have the responsibility
In all other cases (i.e. non agency placements except step parent adoption)	The local authority where the requester lives must assess

5. Which Local Authority Should Provide Support?

The local authority responsible for carrying out the assessment of need should provide support to meet the identified needs. 

The exception to this is where ongoing financial support and/or supporting contact arrangements have been agreed by the Placing Agency before the Adoption Order was made, in which case the responsibility to provide such support will remain with the placing agency.

6. Process of Assessment for Adoption Support

Assessments for adoption support in relation to looked after children for whom adoption is the plan should be carried out by the child's social worker as set out at 3.1 to 3.3 above.

All other requests for assessment for adoption support should be passed to the Adoption Support Services Adviser and, where necessary, the case will be referred to the relevant Locality Team for a social worker to be allocated to carry out an Initial Assessment, with advice from the Adoption Support Services Adviser as necessary. 

An Initial Assessment will not be required before providing advice and information.

Where an Initial Assessment is required, the practitioners involved should have regard to the guidance set out in the Assessment Framework.  The assessment should take account of the adoption context, and all the developmental needs of the child should be covered including health, education and emotional needs, and contact issues.   The relevant education authority and health trust should be consulted as necessary.  The assessing social worker will usually need to interview the person being assessed - where this is a child, the adoptive parents will also need to be interviewed depending on the case and the age, understanding and wishes of the child.

A written report of the assessment should be produced using the BAAF Assessment Forms in the Adoption Pack, and a copy given to the person being assessed.  Where the assessment identifies a possible need for financial support, the proposal must be presented to the Designated Manager (Adoption Support) for approval before it can be included in the written report (see Section 8 below).

The report should be sent to the person assessed with notice of the outcome of the assessment, which should state:

1. The person's assessed needs for support;
2. Whether the local authority proposes to provide adoption support   services and if so, what the proposed services are;
3. Where the assessment relates to the need for financial support, how this has been determined and calculated and the conditions to be attached, (see Section 8 below).

Where the person assessed is a child, and it is not appropriate to send the notice to the child, notices should be sent to the adoptive parent or the most appropriate adult.  

Where services are proposed, a draft Adoption Support Plan should usually be attached to the notice and those assessed should be allowed time to consider and make representations on the proposal (see Section 7 below). 

Where the service proposed is one-off, the notice of the outcome of the assessment will be sufficient to outline what is proposed and a draft plan will not be required.

7. The Adoption Support Plan

An Adoption Support Plan should set out clearly:

1. The objectives of the plan and the key services to be provided;
2. The timescales for achieving the plan;
3. Those responsible for implementing the plan and the respective roles of others; what should be provided, when and by whom;
4. The criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the plan;
5. The procedures that will be put in place to review the services to be provided and the plan.

The Adoption Support Plan will need to be completed after consultation with the appropriate Health Primary Care Trust, CAMHS or education departments where any special arrangements may need to be made.  Where the child is placed in the area of another local authority, the agencies in that authority's area will need to be consulted as to what services may be available for adopters and adopted children. In these circumstances, the prospective adopters should be assisted with any cross-boundary issues that may arise.

The Adoption Support Plan should include any proposed financial support including assistance with Court fees and legal expenses, how the amount has been calculated, where it is to be paid in installments - the frequency of payment, the period over which it will be paid and when the first payment is to be made, the conditions and the consequences of failing to meet them and the arrangements for review, variation and termination, (see Section 8, Financial Support below).

The proposed Adoption Support Plan must have the approval of the Designated Manager (Adoption Support), and once approval has been given, a copy should be sent to the proposed recipients of the support (with the notice of the outcome of the assessment (see Section 6 above), as well as to any party involved in the delivery of the plan and to the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.  

The recipients of the proposed support should be given 10 working days to consider the proposals and make representations to the local authority about the proposed plan.  Any representations made should be considered by the Designated Manager (Adoption Support), who will amend the draft plan as appropriate and inform the recipients of the outcome of the consideration.

Where the proposed Adoption Support Plan relates to a proposed adoptive placement, it should be submitted to the Adoption Panel when a proposed placement is being considered.  See Chapter on Placement for Adoption Procedure.

A copy of the final plan should go to all those involved in implementing it, and to the recipients of services (or appropriate adult).

The Adoption Support Plan should be reviewed at the reviews of the adoptive placement- see Chapter on Adoption Reviews or at any time if there is a significant change of circumstances, within four weeks of the notification of the change.  

After the Adoption Order has been made, the Plan will be reviewed by the Adoption Support Services Adviser if a change in the person's circumstances is brought to the notice of the local authority.  The format and content of any such review will depend on the circumstances of the case.  It may refer to only one element of the Plan or be relatively minor in which case an exchange of correspondence may be sufficient.  (For reviews of financial support, see Section 8.7 below).

Where the change of circumstances is substantial, such as a serious change in the behaviour of the child, it may be appropriate to conduct a new assessment of needs involving other parties.

If as a result of a review whether before or after an Adoption Order has been made, it is proposed to vary or terminate the support, the proposed change must be approved by the Designated Manager (Adoption Support).  Once so approved, the person concerned must be notified of the proposal and given the same information as in the notice of the outcome of the first assessment, together with a copy of the revised plan in draft.  He or she must then be given 10 working days to make representations on the proposals. 

Having taken account of any such representations, the Designated Manager (Adoption Support) will make the final decision.  In the case of financial support, the decision should also consider whether it is appropriate to seek to recover all or any of the financial support already paid. 

Notice of the decision must then be sent to the person concerned with reasons and, where appropriate, a copy of the revised plan.

Where there is an urgent need for support, the support can be provided before a Plan is drawn up but the above procedure should then be followed as soon as possible.

8.  Financial Support

8.1 Introduction

Financial support is intended to supplement existing means of support available to adoptive parents and the child or children being adopted. 

Adopters must be given advice of entitlements to employee’s rights to leave and pay, benefits, tax credits and allowances, and these should be taken into account when considering amounts of financial support.

8.2 Criteria   

The circumstances in which provision of financial support may be paid are as follows:

1. Where it is necessary to ensure that adoptive parents can look after a child;
2. Where the child needs special care which requires a greater expenditure of resources by reason of illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties or the continuing consequences of neglect - and the child's condition is serious and long-term;
3. Where it is necessary for the local authority to make any special arrangements to facilitate the placement or the adoption by reason of the age or ethnic origin of the child or the desirability of the child being placed with siblings or a child with whom he/she has previously shared a home;
4. Where such support is to meet the recurring costs of travel for visits for the child to members of the birth family/significant others;
5.   Where the local authority considers it appropriate to contribute towards expenditure on legal costs, including Court fees (in cases where the adoption is supported by the local authority), or expenses associated with the child's introduction to adoptive parents or expenditure on accommodating the child (e.g. adaptations to the home, furniture, clothing or transport).

8.3 Types of Payment 

Payment to adoptive parents may be made in the following ways:

• Regular payments - which will be based upon the developmental age of the child and calculated as agreed from time to time by the borough;
• Lump sum payments (settling in costs, special needs and adaptations), which will cover items or adaptations that are required as a consequence of assessment of each child's individuals needs.  Payment may be in installments and will end at a time specified by the borough;
• Payments in special circumstances (for example, a child with additional needs or where foster carers adopt a child for whom they are already caring or where adopters incur legal expenses in contested cases.)  Payment may be in installments and may end at a time specified by the borough.

Financial support cannot generally include the "reward" element which may be payable to foster carers and neither will payments be made so as to provide an income.  However, payments may be paid above the usual level where it is regarded as necessary to ease the transition from foster care to adoption.  Generally such additional payments can be paid for a period of two years although in exceptional circumstances, additional payments may be paid for a longer period.

8.4 Assessment for Financial Support

Where regular financial support is considered appropriate under 8.2 (i) to (iv) above, the amount to be paid to adoptive parents will be determined by an assessment of their means. This will take account of the adopters' income and resources (excluding the value of their home), reasonable outgoings and commitments, the additional costs to the adopters of caring for the child (over and above the normal child care costs) and the financial needs and resources of the child.  (N.B. Support provided under 8.2 (v) will not be subject to an assessment of means.)

Where the financial support is proposed for a new adoptive placement, the prospective adopters' social worker (for Coventry adopters) should ask the prospective adopters to complete a Financial Assessment Form and the completed form should be forwarded to the Finance Department.  Where the placement is with prospective adopters from another agency, the child's social worker should arrange the financial assessment. 

The Designated Manager (Adoption Support) will decide the level of support to be included in the draft Adoption Support Plan (see Section 7 above), having regard to this assessment.

In relation to proposed financial support for a new placement, the Adoption Support Plan will be submitted to the Adoption Panel with the Adoption Placement Report when a matching recommendation is being considered.  See Chapter on Placement for Adoption Procedure.

8.5 Notification

The child's social worker will arrange to send the adopters written notification of the decision to provide financial support and any changes in support, subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions (see 8.6 and 8.7 below).  This includes the amount and terms of the support and information about annual reviews.

8.6 Terms and Conditions

If it is decided that financial support should be given to adoptive parents, payment may be subject to conditions and a date specified by which the condition is to be met.

Prior to making financial support available to prospective or adoptive parents, they will be required to sign a written undertaking to inform the local authority:

1. Of changes to their home address;
2. If the child (for any reason) no longer lives with them;
3. If there are any changes to their financial situation or the resources of the child.

Where information is given orally, adoptive parents must confirm this in writing within 7 days.

Should adoptive parents fail to comply with the requirements, the authority may suspend payment of the financial support provided.

8.7 Annual review of support    

Adoptive parents must also agree to complete and supply the authority with an annual statement of their circumstances for the annual review.

The adopters should specify the following in the statement:

1. Their financial circumstances;
2. The financial needs and resources of the child or children;
3. Their home address and whether or not the child or children live at home with them;
4. If there have been any changes to their own or the child/children's circumstances.

The Adoption Support Services Adviser will have an overview of all annual reviews of the financial support, which will take into account the information given.  Any proposed variation or termination of the financial support must have the approval of the Designated Manager (Adoption Support) and be notified to the person(s) concerned in accordance with the procedure set out in Section 7 above.

Should adoptive parents fail to supply an annual statement, the authority must send a written reminder and give 28 days to comply.  If they fail to comply, the authority may suspend payment of the financial support provided.

8.8 Ending of financial support

Financial support will end in the following circumstances:

• When a child reaches age 18, unless he/she continues in full time education or training when support may continue until the end of the course of education or training being undertaken, subject to any other financial support the child may be entitled to receive;
• Where a child ceases full-time education or training and commences employment;
• Where a child qualifies for income support or job seekers allowance in his/her own right;
• Where circumstances have changed significantly and the criteria are no longer met;
• If a child leaves the adoptive home and this is regarded as a permanent departure.  Temporary absences do not apply, e.g. boarding school, hospital, and respite care;
• The child dies.

End