Presentation from British Association for Adoption & Fostering

Adoption in the United Kingdom© British Association for Adoption& Fostering 2013

Should you wish to reproduce
or adapt or exhibit in public thismaterial, please get in touch with
the Marketing & Communications
Department, BAAF, Saffron House,
6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N
8TS
Email mail@baaf.org.uk
Registered charity number
275689 (England and Wales)
SC039337 (Scotland)International Symposium on Adoption
The Nippon Foundation (Japan)
15th December 2013

Chris Christophides (BAAF Consultant)

BAAF overview• A nationwide charity that works to improve outcomes forchildren in care by finding them a new families• A unique hub of expertise and knowledge that leads the local
government and voluntary sector through independent advice,support and information for everyone involved in fostering andadoption• 7 regional and country offices in England, Wales, Scotland andNorthern Ireland to provide services to meet the needs of someof the UK‟s most vulnerable children and young people• An innovator and challenger of existing practice amongst local
and central government to improve outcomes for children incare© BAAF 2013

What problems are we addressing?
•An increasing number of children are being taken intocare, and there is a chronic shortage of foster carers andadopters•There are over 91,000 children in care in the UK•Around 4,000 children are waiting to be adopted eachyear

•An estimated 9,000 more foster carers and 2,000 –
3,000 more adopters are needed each year

© BAAF 2013

Why do children come into care?
Abuse or neglectFamily crisis/family dysfunctionAbsent parenting
Child‟s disability
Parent‟s illness or disability
Socially unacceptable behaviour© BAAF 2013

Children in care are 14 times more likely to become homeless 66 times more likely to have their own children taken into care
 5 times as likely to develop a mental disorder of some kind incomparison to other children; 42% of looked after children between
the ages of five and ten had a mental disorder of some kind
 40% of prisoners aged 18-20 have spent more than two years in carebefore prison
 15% of children in care got five A*-C grades at GCSE compared to
70% of the general population
 1,500 children in care were moved more than 20 times in one year
 72% of children come into care due to abuse, neglect or family
dysfunction© BAAF 2013

What do the children need?
Security and stability
Secure attachments – time to bond withyou
Intensive nurturingTime to recover
Openness about adoption / reasons why
the child came into careA positive attitude towards contact with thebirth family
Flexibility about the “type” of childthat one could parent© BAAF 2013

What is adoption in the UK?
Adoption is a tried and tested way ofproviding a permanent family for children
who cannot live with their birth parents
A legal procedure in which all the parental
responsibility is transferred to the adopters
Lifelong consequences for the child andthe adoptive parents
Once an adoption order has been granted
it cannot be reversed except in extremelyrare circumstances© BAAF 2013

Background The Adoption of Children Act 1926

 The Child Adoption Committee, 1925,
anticipated that there would always be more
people wishing „to relinquish children by way of
adoption‟ than wanting children© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Background But adoption proved popular –– for the permanent and secure transfer of orphans torelatives or childless couples– and as a device whereby single mothers could savetheir child much of the then very real stigma and legal
disadvantage of illegitimacy– It was suggested in 1949 that as many as one third ofadoptions of illegitimate children were adoptions by
the birth mother (Lowe N & Murch M, 1999)© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption numbers
 The number of orders made annually rose, withfluctuations, from nearly 3,000 in 1927 to a high ofalmost 25,000 in 1968.
 More controversially,step-parent adoption – the adoptionof their own children by single or previously marriedmothers together with their spouses – also proved
increasingly attractive
 From 1970 onwards, the number of babies available for
adoption dropped dramatically The number of orders made annually fell to 10,690 in
1980 and to a low of 4,387 in1998 before the slight but
fluctuating rises since (5,354 in 2003)© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Responses to drop in number ofbabies available for adoption
 Firstly couples with means, determined on the adoptionof baby, started to look to developing societies and alsoin Eastern Europe through a largely unregulated process Secondly, the adoption of children unable to return totheir birth families and/or with disabilities from local
authority care, i.e. „hard-to-place' children.
 The placement of these children, many of whom had
high levels of need, often lacked adequate pre- and post
adoption support, resulting in high levels of disruption
and many, particularly, older children returning to local
authority care

© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption Act 1976 The 1976 Act incorporated parts of the Adoption
Act1958, and the radical reforms based on therecommendations of the Houghton Committee (1972) Such was the delay in implementation and the pace ofpractice change, that by the time the 1976 Act finallycame into force in1988 it was predicated on an exclusivemodel of adoption that had virtually ceased to exist, andwas already out of date.
 The 1976 Act failed to recognise the needs of older
children and their adoptive families in relation to– maintaining continuing contact with significant people from thepast and– the need for support not only before but also well beyond themaking of an adoption order© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

1989-1993:reform gaining momentum
 Review of adoption law announced during theChildren Act debates in June 1989, to look atdevelopments since last major review in 1972
 DH-organised Adoption Law Review reportpublished Oct 1992
 Government criticises agencies for lacking„common sense‟ on age, race, and role of single
parents in adoption
 White Paper 1993
© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2002

Presentation from British Association for Adoption & Fostering

Adoption& Children Act
2002
England© British Association for Adoption& Fostering 2013

Should you wish to reproduce
or adapt or exhibit in public thismaterial, please get in touch with
the Marketing & Communications
Department, BAAF, Saffron House,
6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N
8TS
Email mail@baaf.org.uk
Registered charity number
275689 (England and Wales)
SC039337 (Scotland)(Came into effect on 30th
December 2005)

What's new? - theessentials

Placement framework (1)The Adoption and Children Act 2002 has brought
about key changes in the following areas:– Placement for adoption: this can now only
take place if parents consent or if the local
authority obtains a placement order (S. 2124)– Consent (S.19 and 20): the process by which
this is given by a parent or guardian(CAFCASS officer) – and the actions requiredof the agency where withdrawal of consent
occurs© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Placement orders
Apply for placement order when applying for acare order (if do not have consent)
Need to satisfy the threshold criteria
Care order granted, and then suspendedBirth parents, local authority and adopters all toshare PR until the child is adopted
Last until child adopted, or 18, or married at 16© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Placement framework (2)– Adoption reports: who can write them.
– The Child’s Permanence Report– Contact: this is now to be considered at eachstage
– Parental responsibility: where it has consent ora placement order, the agency has parental
responsibility (PR) for the child and may restrict the
PR of the child‟s parent, guardian or, where thechild is placed, the prospective adopter© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Preparing, assessing and approving
prospective adopters The 2002 Act together with the new Regulationsand Guidance have brought about the following
key changes concerning the assessment ofprospective adopters:– Amendment of some timescales involved in theapplication and assessment process– Improved provision for joint applications to adopt byunmarried couples© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Preparing, assessing and approving
prospective adopters (2)– Introduction of a brief prospective adopter‟sreport– Clarification about panel recommendation andpanel advice– Introduction of approval review– Some changes to access to and timescales
for the Independent Review Mechanism.
– Changes to the prospective adopter‟s report© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2002

Matching and proposing a placement• The AAR and the Guidance have madechanges in the following areas:– Timescales, speeding up the process– Preparation of the adoption placement report– Discussion with the proposed family.

© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Placement and Reviews
 Much of the Regulation in this area – AAR 35 – stems
from good practice.
– There are now detailed requirements for thePlacement Planning Meeting, and the Guidance
specifies the purpose and content of this meeting– An Adoption Placement Plan must be formulated– The child may be placed with the prospective
adopter, subject to certain requirements being met.
– Child needs to be in placement for 10 weeks before
applicants can put in application to adopt© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Placement and Reviews (2) Visits and reviews– Regulations governing visits and reviews are now
more comprehensive

 Roles– A new role for independent reviewing officers (IROs)
to review children placed for adoption.
– Their responsibilities are specified, as are theirrequired qualifications– New requirements for the preparation of reports
about visits and reviews – which now applies to all
children authorised to be placed for adoption.
© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Intercountry adoption brings it more in line with domestic
adoption Building on changes already introduced as a result of
the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999, theAdoption and Children Act 2002 has made further
changes to intercountry adoption in the following areas:– Bringing children into the UK in connection withadoption– Increased involvement in matching process by local
authority/adoption agency– Access to Adoption Support Services– Taking children out of the UK in connection withadoption– A new procedure for obtaining agreement to remove
a child from the UK for adoption outside the British
Islands.

© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption Support Services
 Support to assist in cases of disruption is now
included as a prescribed support service
 The role of Adoption Support Services Advisor
 The placing authority is now responsible for theassessment and provision of adoption support
services for three years after the adoption order(regular payments agreed before adoption orderand contact until 18)© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption Support Services (2) Regulations and guidance sets out thecircumstances in which a local authority may ormust disregard the means test in relation toproviding financial support
 Children adopted from abroad are now
specifically entitled to be assessed in relation totherapeutic services
 Intercountry adopters and their children are
now specifically entitled to be assessed inrelation to services to ensure the continuation of
the adoptive relationship© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Access to information - Pre-commencement
Pre-commencement
 In respect of any adoption which took place
before 30 December 2005, the Adoption andChildren Act 2002 has brought about key
changes in the following areas:– Adopted adults and their adult birth relatives have a
new right to request a regulated intermediary service– Intermediary agencies cannot disclose identifying
information about a subject without having firstobtained their informed consent (the subject could be
an adopted adult or an adult birth relative of that
person)© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Access to information - Precommencement
 Adopted people can register either a qualified orabsolute veto with the appropriate agency
 Adoption Agencies or Adoption Support Agencies
may charge a fee to any person, other than an
adopted person, to cover any reasonable costs
they incur in processing an application for thedisclosure of information
 Adopted people and birth relatives can now
register a wish for no contact on the Registrar
General‟s Adoption Contact Register Written information about counselling services
must be provided© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Access to adoption information – Prior to
30th December 2005

Applications can only be accepted fromadopted people and birth relatives who areover the age of 18© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Post-commencement
 In relation to any adoption which takes place onor after 30 December 2005, the Adoption andChildren Act 2002 brought about the following
key changes:– The adoption agency is the main gateway for accessto information, including birth record information© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Post-commencement
 There is now a systematic framework within which
adoption agencies are required to consider certain
issues – such as the adopted person's welfare – before
making a determination as to whether to disclose
protected (identifying) information
 Arrangements for the retention, storage and transfer of
adoption records (Section 56 information) have been
updated Adopted people, birth relatives and other people
involved in an adoption (i.e. former foster carers) may
apply to the appropriate adoption agency for thedisclosure of protected information© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Post-commencement
 People can request an independent review
where the adoption agency makes a 'qualifying
determination' about the disclosure of
information under Section 61 of the Act
 Adoption agencies are required to provide
written information about the availability ofcounselling and the services they provide to any
person who applies to the agency for thedisclosure of information© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Special guardianship– Any child previously looked after will cease to belooked after on the making of this order.
– A special guardian may exercise PR to the
exclusion of all others with PR, apart fromanother special guardian– The special guardian will have clear
responsibility for all the day-to-day decisions
about caring for the child or young person, andhis or her upbringing– A special guardian can also appoint a guardianin the event of death© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Special guardianship (2)– Special guardians cannot agree to change thechild‟s surname or live abroad for more than 3months without the agreement of other people
with parental responsibility or leave of the court– Special guardians cannot “consent” to theadoption of the child; birth parents retain theright to consent or not to the child‟s adoption© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption panels and agency
decisions Although the basic structure and function of
adoption panels and the agency role remain thesame, the regulations and guidance havebrought about a number of changes to adoption
panel arrangements in the following areas:– The detail of membership, and quorum (5)– Changes in the role of the agency adviser tothe panel– Annual review of panel members© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption panels and agency decisions(2)
 When considering the proposed placement of achild with a particular prospective adopter, thepanel will be required to consider and may give
advice on:– any restriction of the parent‟s or prospective
adopter‟s parental responsibility– proposals for provision of adoption support
services– proposals for contact arrangements© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption panels and agency decisions(3)
 Where the panel recommends the prospective
adopter is suitable, it may consider and give
advice re number of children, age range, sex,
likely needs and background and needs toconsider strengths and weaknesses (adoptive
capacity) to inform matching The agency is not restricted by this advice© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption panels and matching (4)Panel must consider, and may give advice on: the provision of adoption support
 Arrangements re contact
 Whether PR or any parent, guardian, orprospective adopter should be restricted andhow much© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Agency decision maker Must take into account recommendations ofpanel
 Should consult minutes and reports presented
to panel Have particular regard to panel‟s reasons inmaking recommendations
 If the decision maker is minded not to accept
the panel‟s recommendation, s/he should
discuss this with another senior person in theagency who is not a member of panel.
© British Association for
Adoption and Fostering 2013

Adoption
 Who can adopt?
 Adoption basics: age, housing, work, experience,
sexuality, relationships, intercountry adoption
 How do people apply to adopt?
– Finding out more
– Finding an agency
 The adoption process– Preparation– The Home Study– Panel Being matched with a child Adoption support© BAAF 2013

Underpinning themes of the
Adoption Reform Agenda (2013)
To reduce delay for children whose careplan is adoption
To reduce delays and ambiguities in the
recruitment, assessment and preparation of
adopters
To ensure that prospective adopters
receive a consistent and coherent serviceTo develop social work skills in analytic andevidence based report writing© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

Adoption Reform 2013: DelayMore moves in foster care increase
instability and more broken relationships.
Can lead to risks in emotional
development & behavioural problems
Higher likelihood of disruptions
Possible challenges to care plans in court
Reduction in chances of being adopted by
20% for each year of delay
Child‟s self esteem affected© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

Rationale
The Government agenda is based on a
range of research, evidence from anexpert working group and statisticalinformation
Julie Selwyn „Costs and outcomes of noninfant adoptions‟, BAAF 2006
Ward, Brown and Westlake „Safeguarding
Babies and Very Young Children from
Abuse and Neglect‟, JKP, 2012
Farmer et al „An investigation of family
finding and matching in adoption, 2010

© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

Statistics in the UKPlease see the attached document in yourpacks

© BAAF 2013

The ever widening gap!!!
8000

7000

2,680 children living with theiradoptive families but an adoption
order had not yet been granted.

7160
6240

6000

5080

5000

4450

4690

4000
3000

3300
3060

3160

3320

3190

3080

580

410

310

250

3440

2000
1000

910

0
2007

2008

Freed for Adoption© British Association for Adoption & Fostering 2013

2009

2010

Placement Orders

2011

210
2012

Left Care through Adoption

Children on a placement order at 31 March by year inwhich order was granted - children not placed for
adoption.

Children who ceased to be looked after through₁
₂
adoption , special guardianship and residence
₃orders– 1999 to 2012

© British Association for Adoption & Fostering 2013

Keeping the child at the centre
Earlyintervention
and robust
assessment offamily members
On-going
adoption
supportTimelyplacement ofchild withadoptive family

Analytical andevidence based
reports

The Child’s
Emotional
Well Being
Thoroughassessment andpreparation ofprospective
adopters

Robust careplanning andpreparation of
the child

Family finding
activity
including
adopter
recruitment andprofiling thechild© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

Adoption Reform programmeA two stage training and assessment
process for adopters - implemented from
July 1st 2013
Scorecards
Adoption Support - Adopter Passport now
implemented
National Gateway for Adoption - now
operational as First4Adoption
National Adopter Recruitment Forum© British Association for Adoption & Fostering 2013

Adoption Reform Agenda: Tackling
Delay M. Gove 2012
To reduce adoptions delayed in order toachieve a perfect or near perfect match
between adoptive parents and the childSwifter use of the Adoption Register inorder to find the right adopters for a childwherever they may liveEncourage all local authorities to seek toplace children with their potential adoptersin anticipation of the court‟s placement
order© British Association for Adoption & Fostering 2013

Adoption Reform: Tackling DelaySpeed up the adopter assessment
process, so that 2 months are spent in
training and information gathering, followedby 4 months of full assessment
Fast track process for those who haveadopted before or who are foster carers
wanting to adopt a child in their care
National Gateway to adoption as aconsistent source of advice & information© British Association for Adoption & Fostering 2013

Training Programme BAAF and DfEPhase One - Adopter Assessment Process
Phase Two - Foster to Adopt, Concurrency
and Care PlanningPhase Three - Effective Report Writing inChild Care
Phase Four - Adoption Support© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

Customer Care Standards First 4
AdoptionTo ensure that there is a positive welcome
for all who may be able to care for children
in the care system
To increase the number of prospective
adopters able to meet the needs ofchildren in areTo speed up the process of adoption whilst
ensuring that it is effective and supportive
for children and adults
 To improve customer service© British Association for
Adoption & Fostering 2013

What we do to address challenges
 BAAF is working with local agencies to share best practice – how to
encourage people to come forward and cherish and support them when theydo
 A national approach is needed to shift attitudes and „normalise‟ adoption as anatural and positive choice for many who wish to experience the joys andchallenges that come with parenthood, but for a variety of reasons don‟tconceive naturally. Adoption needs powerful and positive promotion at every
level to convert more of the 450,000 google searches a month into
prospective adopters Recent research into attitudes to adoption shows that people come forward
when encouraged through meeting people who‟ve adopted and hearing theirstories. Word of mouth recommendation, buddies and mentors all work well
 Adoption needs to be promoted by as many organisations and individuals as
possible as a natural way to create a family. It needs to be mainstreamed,
not hidden away
© BAAF 2013

National Adoption Week
http://nationaladoptionweek.org.uk/© BAAF 2013

Be My Parent Online
www.bemyparent.org.uk© BAAF 2013

Adoption Registerwww.adoptionregister.org.uk© BAAF 2013

Adoption & Inter-Agency Fee

Please see BAAF paper, titled „Inter-Agency
Fees‟, 2013

© BAAF 2013

BibliographyLowe N and Murch M, „Supporting
adoption, BAAF, 1999
Selwyn J, „Costs and outcomes of noninfant adoptions‟, BAAF 2006
Selwyn J, et al „Adoption and the InterAgency Fee‟, Bristol and Loughborough
Universities, Research Paper, DCSF, 2009
© BAAF 2013

Bibliography cont’dFarmer E, et al „An investigation of family
finding and matching in adoption‟, Briefing
Paper, Department for Education, 2010
Ward H, Brown R and Westlake D,„Safeguarding Babies and Very YoungChildren from Abuse and Neglect‟, JKP,2012
© BAAF 2013

Useful website resources
http://www.baaf.org.uk/infohttp://www.first4adoption.org.uk/
http://www.bemyparent.org.uk/
http://www.adoptionregister.org.uk/site/pag
e.aspx?pid=48
http://www.baaf.org.uk/ourwork/activitydayshttp://www.education.gov.uk/search/results?q=adoption© BAAF 2013

THANK YOU
Chris Christophides
chris.christophides@baaf.org.uk© BAAF 2013