Agenda item
Adoption Service 6-monthly report and regionalisation update
The purpose of this report is to provide information to the Council’s Corporate Parenting Committee about the general management of the adoption service and how it is achieving good outcomes for children.
Minutes:
Onder Beter (Head of LAC and Permanency) introduced the Brent Adoption Service Report for 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019, highlighting that the council continued to perform well against the national indicator for the number of days between the date a child becomes a Looked After Child and the date that they are adopted. There had been a slight increase from the previous reporting period due to a particular case in which parents had appealed against their children being subject to a Placement Order, leading to a longer court process. Brent continued to perform better than the national or London average for this measure. The committee was informed that during this reporting period there had been three children adopted, five approvals of adoptive households, with six ongoing, and 11 applications for the Adoptions Support Fund (ASF). Onder Beter added that Brent was one of the West London authorities which most utilised the ASF.
Members’ attention was subsequently drawn to the update on the regionalisation of adoption. The committee heard that the Chair, Councillor M Patel, as Lead Member for Children’s Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care, had presented the proposed arrangements for the West London Regional Adoption Agency (Adopt London West) between Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow and Ealing to the Cabinet. The proposals had been approved by the Cabinet. Hounslow Council and Ealing Council had also approved the proposals, leaving only Hammersmith and Fulham Council to complete the approval process. Consideration was now being given to when to commence the formal consultation process with staff affected by the changes. Various work streams were progressing at different levels to agree the detail of the arrangement. A draft partnership agreement setting out how the four local authorities would work together was currently being reviewed by the councils’ legal departments. It was now anticipated that the new arrangements would be implemented from September 2019.
In response to a query, Nigel Chapman confirmed that Ealing would remain the lead authority for the Regional Adoption Agency but would be required to report to the West London Regionalisation Steering Group. Brent was represented on this Group by Gail Tolley as the Statutory Director of Children’s Services for the borough. Brent Council would retain responsibility for ensuring that its adoption performance remained outstanding and furthermore, Adopt London West would be required to provide an annual performance report. Commenting on the arrangements for the Adoption Panel, Nigel Chapman explained that the details were still being agreed, but it was expected that there would be one Panel for all four authorities to ensure a more efficient use of resources. Further details would be shared with the committee when available.
In the subsequent discussion, the Committee welcomed the number of foster carers who had gone on to adopt the children they cared for. Several queries were raised regarding the frequency and impact of parents appealing against Placement Orders. Members questioned how many cases exceeded the 26 weeks’ target for resolution. In concluding their questions, the committee sought further details regarding the impact of the £5k cap on the ASF and on adoption placement breakdowns.
Responding to the questions raised, Onder Beter advised that appeals by parents were not very common and it was rare for them to be successful as cases went through a process of intense scrutiny and it was a last resort for a judge to agree a Placement Order. Though an appeal might create delay for a child’s adoption, it would not create any disruption to their placement. Each case was meant to be resolved by the Family Courts within 26 weeks. The council monitored this and did apply pressure to bring cases forward as quickly as possible. Currently, cases brought by the council were taking approximately 30 weeks. Again, whilst this did create some delay for the children, it would not cause any disruption to their placements.
Onder Beter advised that it was rare that the council would spend over £5k for a support package but there were cases where this was needed and the council maintained a list of various providers to ensure cost effectiveness. The feedback from workers and adopters was very positive about the ASF. The future of the ASF was not certain but there were plans via the Regional Adoption Agency to lobby for a similar resource. All other members of the Regional Adoption Agency were being urged to make use of the ASF to support any such action.
Nigel Chapman confirmed that less than 5 percent of adoptions would breakdown at some point. There were some examples of adoptions which had broken down when children were in the mid to late teenage years but at that point they would be treated as any other family experiencing these issues. The council did provide a clinical psychologist to support adopters post-placement.
The Chair thanked the officers for the responses.
RESOLVED:
The Corporate Parenting Committee recommended that the Adoption Panel of Adopt London West include an elected representative from the respective authorities in the pool of panel members.
Supporting documents: