the preparation, assessment and approval of prospective adopters who wish to adopt a child from abroad. Advice to Panel 2. In a case where prospective intercountry adopters are being considered, the agency should ensure that a social worker with experience of agency arrangements for intercountry adoption provides the panel with advice. 3. Advice to the panel may be given orally and in writing. As well as legal advice, the panel may wish to call for advice from social workers with particular expertise, such as in intercountry adoption. Medical adviser role in section 84 order cases 4. The agency medical adviser should be consulted where the agency prepares a report to the court where there has been an application for a section 84 order, as the agency is required to provide summaries written by the medical adviser on the health of the child and the prospective adopter. Persons who may prepare adoption reports 5. Regulation 3 of the Restriction on the Preparation of Adoption Reports Regulations 2005 provides that only persons who fall within one of three categories of the prescribed description may prepare adoption reports. These are: a social worker, employed by the agency, who either has the necessary experience or is supervised by a social worker, employed by the agency, who has the necessary experience a social worker, acting on behalf of the agency, (i.e. an independent social worker) who has the necessary experience and is supervised by a social worker, employed by the agency, who has the necessary experience a student training to become a social worker who is employed by, or placed with, the agency as part of a course and is supervised by a social worker, employed by the agency, who has the necessary experience. The social work student must be on a course approved by the General Social Care Council or the Care Council for Wales. 6. Where reports are being prepared by social work students, independent social workers or social workers without the necessary experience, the draft report should be considered and discussed during supervision and signed off by a social worker with the necessary experience before the report is submitted to the adoption panel or to a relevant foreign authority. 7. Regulation 4 of the Restriction on the Preparation of Adoption Reports Regulations provides that only a person who meets the requirements of Regulation 3 may prepare any of the following:
the prospective adopter that he or she must receive written notice that a certificate has been issued before bringing a child into the UK and that failure to do so may prevent a Convention adoption from going ahead and is an offence under section 83 of the Act in a non-Convention case. See Annex for more information on the roles of the Welsh Assembly Government and DfES. 23. Where the application has been checked and a certificate issued, the application will normally be sent to the relevant authority in the State of origin, which will seek to match the prospective adopter with a suitable child. See Annex for more information. INTERCOUNTRY CASE WHERE THE UK IS THE RECEIVING STATE: Foreign Element Regulation 19 and Agencies Regulation 35 24. In an intercountry case where the UK is the receiving State, the child and the prospective adopter will be matched by the relevant authority in the child’s State of origin. Details of the proposed match may be sent to the Welsh Assembly Government or DfES, in which case they will be forwarded to the agency and the prospective adopter. However, in some non-Convention cases the prospective adopter will receive details of the proposed match directly and, if so, the prospective adopter is required to forward a copy to the agency and meet with them to discuss the match. 25. The agency should remind the prospective adopter that failure to forward details of the proposed match is an offence under section 83 of the Act. When the agency receives information about such a case, it is required by Foreign Element Regulation 19 and Agencies Regulation 35: to send a copy of the information about the child to the prospective adopter unless it is aware that the prospective adopter has received this information to consider that information and meet with the prospective adopter to discuss it; and if appropriate, provide a counselling service and any further information to the prospective adopter as may be required. 26. The agency should aim to meet the prospective adopter to discuss the proposed match within 10 working days of receiving the information, where this is reasonably practicable. The prospective adopter should be given time and reasonable assistance to consider the information. The agency should: explain the need for the prospective adopter to carefully consider the child’s needs and background and their capacity to meet those needs provide the prospective adopter with written information about requesting an