3.10.2 Adoption Panel

AMENDMENT

This chapter was amended in December 2011 to reflect Adoption National Minimum Standards 2011 and Adoption Guidance 2011. In particular the constitution and membership of the Panel has changed. Therefore Section 1, Membership, Section 2, Meetings and Section 3, Purpose and Function have been significantly amended and should be re-read in their entirety. In addition Section 4, Minutes was updated to reflect the current procedure for producing and agreeing Panel minutes and Section 6, Role of the Chair was amended to include the fact that the Chair has the casting vote.

Membership
Meetings
Purpose and Function
Minutes
Reports to the Panel
Role of Chair
Role of Vice Chair/s
Role of Adoption Adviser
Role of Panel Administrative Staff

1. Membership

The Adoption Panel consists of members drawn from a Central List.

Each Panel meeting has a maximum of 10 participants including an Independent Chair appointed by the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel).

When setting up an Adoption Panel, members will be drawn from this Central List. The same people do not have to be appointed to every Panel meeting.

The Central List should include (in addition to the Independent Chair):

Adoption social workers with at least 3 years' relevant post qualifying experience in child care social work, including direct experience in adoption work (not necessarily employed by the agency);
The Medical Adviser/s;
Other persons whom the agency considers suitable including specialists in education; race and culture; child and adolescent mental health services; and those with personal experience of adoption.

The Central List should ideally be gender balanced and if possible reflect the composition of the community it serves.

The Panel must also have one, and can have two, Vice Chairs, who are also appointed by the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel). A Vice Chair does not have to be an independent member.

The Agency Decision Maker on adoption matters must not be a member of the Panel.

The Medical Adviser is appointed as one of the independent members of the Panel.

The agency should decide how many people should sit at each Adoption Panel meeting, provided that there is a quorum of five, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair, one of the adoption social worker representatives and at least one independent member.

1.1 Appointments to the Central List

Those on the Central List are appointed by the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments) and will able to continue their membership as long as they are able to carry out their duties.

Person appointed to the Central List cannot begin Panel work, until an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check has been completed and he or she has signed a confidentiality agreement and a panel membership agreement with the Adoption Adviser.

Up to 2 observers may attend each Panel meeting. They will be asked to sign a confidentiality undertaking, and will not have a set of Panel papers unless they have an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check.

New appointees will be asked to give signed agreement to checks being undertaken as above and cannot take up their appointment until the outcome of the checks are known. They are excluded from membership if they have any offences against children or of violence. They are required to notify the Panel Adviser immediately if they receive such a conviction or caution while on the Central List.

They should have the opportunity to observe an Adoption Panel meeting before they sit as a member and to attend an annual joint training day with adoption agency staff; have induction training completed within 10 weeks of inclusion on the list and access to appropriate training and skills development and are kept abreast of changes to legislation, regulation and guidance.

They should also have access to the agency's whistle-blowing policy.

Written information about the expectations arising from their appointment should be given to new appointees to the Central List in relation to their performance objectives, participation in induction and other training, safeguarding the confidentiality of information provided to the Panel and their general conduct - see Section 2.2, Confidentiality and Section 2.3, General Conduct and they should be asked to sign a written agreement confirming their acceptance of these before taking up their appointment.

2. Meetings

The Adoption Panel meets on the third Thursday of every month and the current venue is:

The Business and Learning Centre, Cator Street, SE15 6AA

The Adoption Panel can be convened at other times than the monthly meeting if necessary to prevent delay in any making decisions for children particularly decisions for adoption. Any such request should be made to the Team Manager as soon as the need arises.

2.1 Conduct of Meetings

The Adoption Panel administrative staff will prepare and circulate an annual list of Adoption Panel dates and deadlines every November for the following year. The Panel administrative staff will arrange additional special meetings as necessary, with the Chair's authority, where for example there is a need to consider an urgent placement and to avoid delay for children.

The Adoption Adviser attends all Panel meetings but is not a member of the Panel. His or her role is to ensure all the necessary reports are available for the Panel, to advise Panel on social work and procedural matters and to report to social workers and their managers on issues arising from Panel meetings.

The Panel administrative staff, in consultation with the Adoption Adviser, prepares the agenda for each meeting and draws members from the Central List. The agenda and reports will be sent out to members ten days before the meeting.

The Panel's legal adviser is invited to attend all Panel meetings.

If a Panel member has some knowledge of a case, whether in a personal or professional capacity, they should declare an interest and inform the Chair of the Panel at the earliest opportunity, so that an alternative member can be invited if required to ensure that the Panel is quorate

If the Panel cannot reach a consensus on its recommendation, the Panel Chair has the casting vote. The minutes should clearly set out the reasons why the chair had to use the casting vote. In this event, any dissenting view should be fully recorded in the minutes.

Those presenting reports to the Panel must forward the [Child's Permanence Report] and all related reports to the Panel administrative staff two weeks and two days before the date of the Panel meeting.

At the end of each Panel meeting, the Adoption Panel administrative staff will collect all members' papers. Panel members unable to attend a meeting will be asked to return his or her papers to the Adoption Panel administrative staff. All papers will then be shredded to ensure confidentiality.

2.2 Confidentiality

All written and verbal information given to Panel members in the course of their duties is strictly confidential. As indicated above, those included on the Central List are required to sign a written agreement, before their appointment, to confirm that all information they receive will remain confidential.

Panel members are expected to keep all written information in a secure place and return all Panel documents to the agency immediately after each Panel meeting.

Panel members must not copy, in part or in whole, any documents that relate to a case.

Failure to comply with the above paragraphs may result in the member's inclusion on the Central List being terminated.

2.3 General Conduct

All those on the Central List should be committed to anti-discriminatory practice and should be prepared to consider each case on its own merits.

Panel members should have read the Panel papers carefully, prior to the Panel meeting, and come prepared to contribute to the Panel discussion.

The Panel Adviser will review the performance of those on the Central List on a regular basis.

The Panel Adviser, in consultation with the Chair, will review their performance on a more formal basis at least annually.

If there are concerns about the conduct or behaviour of a person on the Central List, this should be conveyed to the Chair who will raise these concerns with the person in private.

If such concerns cannot be resolved informally, the Chair, in consultation with the Panel Adviser, will write to the person concerned setting out the concerns and what action it is proposed to take. See Section 2.6, Termination of Appointment to the Central List for action that may be taken if the concerns continue.

The Chair's performance will be reviewed annually by the Agency Decision Maker, taking into account the views of those who attend Panel meetings, namely, persons on the Central List, social workers and prospective adopters.

2.4 Conflicts of Interest

Panel members should consider any conflicts of interest in relation to Panel agenda items. A potential conflict arises if an interest may be seen to adversely affect a Panel member's capacity to act without prejudice or preference in a matter.

It is anticipated that in many circumstances there may be professional knowledge of a case which should be notified to the Chair but which will not affect a member's capacity to participate in the Panel. In other circumstances there may be a personal interest or connection which would require the Panel member to refrain from participation. It may be less clear in some cases when advice should be sought.

In the case of a potential conflict of interest where advice is required, Panel members should consult the Chair, Panel Adviser or Legal Adviser, giving as much advance notice as possible particularly having regard to the implications for the quorum.

2.5 Resignations from the Central List

All those on the Central List are expected to give a minimum of one month's written notice of their wish to resign, except where personal emergencies e.g. accidents, illness, make this impossible. Resignation letters should be addressed to the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments), with a copy to the Chair of the Panel.

Initial verbal resignations may be given, but should always be followed by a written resignation. Those on the Central List are asked, as a matter of courtesy, to inform the Chair of the Panel of their intention to resign, before making any public announcement.

Those on the Central List wishing to withdraw a submitted written resignation must do so before the one month notice period expires by writing to the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments), who reserves the right not to accept a withdrawal of notice and to allow the original letter of resignation to stand.

2.6 Termination of Appointment to the Central List

Where it is considered that someone is unsuitable to be on the Central List, they must be given one month's notice in writing and reasons for the decision to end their appointment.

Where there are concerns about the behaviour of a person on the Central List either inside or outside the meetings, and the difficulties have not been resolved by discussion and correspondence between the Chair, Panel Adviser and the person concerned, the matter will be raised by the Panel Adviser with the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments), who will decide whether to propose the end of the appointment and if so, will advise the person concerned in writing giving clear reasons for the proposal.

The person concerned will be given the opportunity to make observations on the matter before a final decision is made by the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments).

3. Purpose and Function

The Adoption Panel is responsible for overseeing the running of the local authority's adoption service and receives annual reports on the service and its performance.

In doing so it has an overriding responsibility to promote good practice, consistency of approach and fairness in all aspects of the adoption service.

Recommendations

As part of this function, the Panel makes recommendations as to the following:

The suitability of prospective adoptive applicants as adoptive parents (including where written representations are received from prospective adoptive applicants after a decision to refuse an application has been made, and where advice is sought over whether or not a particular assessment should continue or be ended);
Whether a child should be placed for adoption;
Whether a child should be placed with particular prospective adopters.

Recommendations cannot be made in principle and must be unconditional. The Panel may, however, give advice on cases, for example where the agency is considering parallel planning.

Timescales:

Adoption Panels make a recommendation on the suitability of a prospective adopter to adopt within eight months of receipt of the formal application.

Adoption Panels make a recommendation on whether a child is suitable to be placed for adoption within two months of the Looked After Review where adoption was identified as the child's identified Permanence Plan.

Adoption Panels make a recommendation on the proposed placement of a child with particular prospective adopters within six months of the Agency Decision Maker's decision that the child is suitable to be placed for adoption.

Where the timescales are not met, the Adoption Panel should record the reasons.

Advice

The Adoption Panel must consider and may advise on the following issues:

Where prospective adoptive parents are recommended as suitable to adopt, the number of children the adoptive parents may be suitable to adopt, as well as their age range, sex, likely needs and background;
Where it is recommended that a child should be placed for adoption, what the contact arrangements for the child should be and whether a Placement Order should be applied for;
Where it is recommended that a child should be placed with particular prospective adopters, the proposed adoption support, future contact arrangements and whether/how the exercise of Parental Responsibility should be restricted.

Monitoring

The Adoption Panel also monitors the progress of individual children for whom adoption is the plan up to the making of an Adoption Order, through progress reports as required under Placement for Adoption Procedure.

The Adoption Panel also receives Disruption Reports in relation to any breakdowns in adoptive placements (see Placement for Adoption Procedure.)

The Adoption Panel should also provide feedback to the adoption agency every six months on the quality of reports and whether there is a fair and consistent approach across the service.

4. Minutes

The Panel meetings are digitally recorded and the minutes will always record the information in relation to the following:

The reports received. (The Panel's requirements as to reports are specified in the relevant procedures elsewhere in the Handbook);
Who attended and for which part of the discussion;
Medical advice;
The Panel's conclusions;
The Panel's recommendations and reasons.

(Recordings are deleted once the final minute has been agreed)

After the minutes have been typed up, these will be emailed to the Chair who has 48 hours to read and ensure the minutes are accurate, clearly cover the key issues and views expressed by Panel members, and make any comments/amendments that s/he deems necessary. These are then emailed back to the Panel Administrator who will then email the presenting social worker (for the particular case) who has 24 hours to make any comments/queries. If we do not hear from the social worker within 24 hours we will assume there are no queries and the minutes are agreed.

The minutes are emailed to the Adoption Panel members. If there are any specific, important comments/amendments felt necessary by a Panel member, the Panel member must email the Panel Administration, clearly stating the line number and the case in question. There will be 24 hours to respond to the Panel administrator.

After this time period, the minutes will be ready for the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) to authorise and sign off.

The child's birth parents and prospective adopters are informed orally of the ADM's decision within 2 working days and a letter of confirmation is sent within 5 working days of the Adoption Panel meeting.

The final signed minutes are distributed to Panel members at the next Adoption Panel and are for information only.

The Panel minutes will be written in accordance with the format agreed from time to time and kept on every child's Adoption Case Record. Separate records will be kept for each child of a sibling group.

5. Reports to the Panel

Reports to the Adoption Panel in relation to adoption matters upon which the Panel are asked to make recommendations must be prepared by qualified social workers with at least 3 years post-qualification experience. This must include direct experience of adoption work either in assessing a prospective adopter or as the social worker to a child with an adoption plan from the planning stage to the placement, monitoring and review stages. Where the author of the report does not have the requisite qualifications and experience, he or she must have either a qualification in social work or be a social worker in training and supervised by a qualified social worker with 3 years' relevant experience.

Where the person preparing the report is an independent social worker, they must always be suitably qualified and experienced and supervised by a member of staff with the suitable qualifications and experience.

The same qualifications and experience are required for social workers undertaking visits of children placed for adoption see Placement for Adoption Procedure and reports for Court in adoption and Placement Order applications - see Court Reports in Adoption/Special Guardianship Guidance.

6. Role of Chair

To provide an independent perspective on the work of the Panel;
To have the knowledge and ability to chair a complex meeting where a wide variety of views may be expressed;
To lead a meeting with diplomacy and authority;
To maintain sensitive regard to a fair and transparent process for adoptive parents whilst ensuring that the Panel keeps the child's welfare paramount;
To ensure all members of the Central List participate fully and obtain consensus where possible;
To ensure that the Panel minutes are an accurate record of the recommendations and advice given, including any serious reservations expressed by any member;
Where the decision is evenly balanced, the chair has the casting vote;
To ensure the Panel is clear about the reasons for its recommendations and that these have been accurately recorded;
To be involved in the recruitment and induction of new members of the Central List;
To communicate issues of concern to the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel);
To take part in the regular review meetings of Panel functioning with the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel) and Adoption Adviser;
To ensure a system of feedback for applicants' comments is devised, used, collated and reviewed;
To report to the agency every six months whether the requirements in relation to the Restrictions on the Preparation of Adoption Reports Regulations 2005 is being met and whether timescales for adoption decisions, prospective adopters' approvals and children being matched with adopters are being met;
To ensure that meetings run on time.

7. Role of Vice Chair/s

To deputise for the Chair when the Chair is unavailable;
To use an occasion to chair when the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel) can be present to provide a learning opportunity and receive feedback;
To take part in the quarterly review meetings.

8. Role of Adoption Adviser

The Adoption Adviser must have 5 years' post-qualification experience of adoption, including relevant management experience. The Adoption Adviser attends all Panel meeting but is not a member of the Central List, has no voting rights and cannot make recommendations.

Where the Panel is considering an adoption with an overseas element, the Adviser must have experience of this area of work or arrange for the Panel to have access to specialist advice.

The Adoption Adviser's role is as follows:

To assist with the appointment, induction, training, monitoring and review of members of the Central List and advise the Panel administrative staff on who from the Central List of members should be invited to attend each Panel meeting;
To be present at meetings to advise the Panel on regulations, policy and procedures and to take feedback about practice issues to social workers and their managers, for example in relation to the quality of reports;
To monitor the Panel's performance including the members and the administration;
To provide updates to the Panel on cases previously considered.

9. Role of Panel Administrative Staff

To invite members of the Central List to Panel meetings, prepare Panel agenda; and coordinate and ensure that paperwork for Panel meetings is sent out at least 5 working days before and in good time after meetings;
To send invitations to prospective adopters and their Adoption Social Worker if an interagency placement;
To ensure that applicants, approved adopters and social workers are notified in writing of Panel decisions;
To provide the social worker with a copy of the relevant minutes;
To maintain full records of Panel business, including agenda, reports and minutes;
To maintain statistical records for performance monitoring, governments returns and the annual report;
To produce an annual schedule of meetings;
To maintain a Panel booking system;
To notify social workers of schedules and deadlines;
To arrange accommodation and refreshments for meetings and a private waiting area for applicants attending Panel meetings;
To maintain records of members of the Central List and their confidentiality agreements;
To work with the Adoption Adviser, liaising with social workers and their managers to ensure that Panel requirements are met;
To respond accurately and promptly to enquiries by social workers and prospective adopters about the Panel, its procedures and requirements;
To receive reports for the panel and point out any gaps to the Adoption Adviser;
To ensure sufficient attendance of Central List members so that Panel meetings are quorate. Where this is in doubt, to draw this to the attention of the Adoption Adviser in advance of the meeting;
To liaise with the Chair about requests from observers;
To ensure that name badges are ready, that spare reports are available and that recording equipment, if used, is functioning;
To take minutes at the meeting, noting in particular recommendations and reasons;
To draw any matter to the attention of the Chair as necessary;
To collect papers at the end of the meeting;
To receive and collate evaluation forms completed by prospective adopters and social workers who attended Panel;
To draft minutes after the meeting, including recommendations and reasons;
To scan and process panel payments to Human Resources payroll.

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